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PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Rufus  H,  LeFevre 

BX^e>76 
.8.B16 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/autobiographyofrOObald 


JAAIES  GILLETTE   BALDWIN 

Autobiography      of 

Rev.  James  G.  Baldwin 


PUBUISHCO     BY     THE 

EAST    OHIO  CONFERENCE  OF  THE   UNITED 
BRETHREN    CHURCH 


1912 


UNITED    BRETHREN   PUBLISHING    HOUSE 
DAYTON.   OHIO 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE 


The  East  Ohio  Conference  requested  its  honored 
and  revered  senior  member,  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin, 
to  write  the  story  of  his  life  that  the  conference 
might  publish  it  for  the  instruction  and  inspiration 
of  the  people.  The  present  volume  is  the  result, 
and  it  is  now  sent  forth  with  gratitude  to  the 
author  for  his  life  and  story,  and  with  confidence 
that  the  book  will  be  a  blessing  to  all  who  read  it. 

Committee. 


Dedication 


TO  my  beloved  wife,  faithful  companion,  and 
partner  of  my  joys  and  sorrows,  my  chief 
earthly  help  to  comfort  and  cheer  me  in  affliction 
and  trial;  one  who  bore  all  the  discomforts  of  an 
itinerant's  life  for  almost  sixty-two  years  without  one 
word  of  complaint,  and  who  passed  away  peacefully 
as  an  innocent  child  to  the  paradise  of  God  on 
Sabbath  morning,  August  28,  1910;  this  narrative  is 
lovingly  dedicated,  that  her  memory  may  be  cher- 
ished and  her  character  revered  as  a  pattern  and 
guide  to  others. 


INTRODUCTION. 

I  would  rather  some  one  else  would  write  the  story 
of  my  life.  I  have  feared  that  there  would  be 
a  temptation  to  introduce  too  much  of  the  ego, 
that  so  many  capital  I's  would  be  needed  that  the 
printers  might  be  embarrassed  in  providing  this  im- 
portant letter.  However,  it  has  come  to  me  of  late 
that  my  own  life  and  labors  are  better  known  to  my- 
self than  to  any  one  else,  ^^l^y  then  should  it  be  a 
duty  to  be  dreaded,  or  to  be  left  to  another  who 
could  not  know  the  ins  and  outs  of  my  life  as  well  as 
myself?  If  the  critic  would  permit  I  should  be  glad 
to  write  it  in  my  individual  style,  so  that  those  who 
have  heard  me  preach  and  sing  and  pray  would  say, 
"That  is  Baldwin." 

I  do  not  wish  to  write  out  all  my  mistakes  and 
crookedness,  but  I  shall  try  to  chronicle  as  much 
as  I  may  of  the  good  that  it  has  been  mine  to  do 
and  enjoy  in  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centu- 
ries. 

The  time  in  which  I  have  lived  has  been  the  most 
wonderful  in  the  history  of  the  world's  progress. 
For  many  generations  men  appeared  to  be  content 
to  move  in  the  treadmill  rounds  of  their  ancestors. 
Within  my  own  lifetime  it  was  deemed  a  wicked 
interference  with  the  laws  of  the  Almighty  to  in- 
vent a  vehicle  that  would  travel  more  than  fifteen 
miles  an  hour,  but  I  have  lived  to  see  the  age  of 
express  trains,  aeroplanes,  and  wireless  telegraphy. 
I  have  lived  in  the  age  of  fat  lamps,  oil  lamps,  on 


6  Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

into  the  time  of  gas  and  electric  illumination,  when 
the  darkness  of  night  is  turned  into  the  light  of 
rlay.  I  saw  the  first  train  of  passenger  cars  that 
ran  in  the  United  States,  and  its  speed  of  seven- 
teen miles  an  hour  filled  the  people  along  the  route 
with  awe  and  amazement.  I  was  present,  in  1838, 
when  a  professor  of  chemistry  stretched  a  wire 
from  one  corner  to  another  of  a  large  hall  to  show 
his  auditors  how  messages  might  be  sent  from  one 
point  to  another,  but  he  remarked  that  it  was  hardly 
possible  that  it  ever  would  be  utilized  for  long  dis- 
tances on  account  of  the  expense.  Now,  if  I  start 
a  message  from  Akron,  Ohio,  at  sunrise  to  my 
friends  in  Seattle,  Washington,  the  message  reaches 
them  three  hours  before  sunup,  although  the  sun 
is  doing  its  best — plodding  along  at  the  rate  of  a 
thousand  miles  an  hour. 

When  my  father  purchased  a  cookstove,  the 
neighbors  came  in  to  see  it  put  up.  They  stood 
around  the  kitchen  wall,  as  far  from  it  as  possible, 
in  mortal  fear  that  it  would  explode  as  soon  as  the 
fire  got  hot  enough  for  cooking. 

Withal,  it  is  an  age  which  afifords  the  best  op- 
portunity for  man  to  be  good,  great,  and  noble,  so 
I  thank  God  that  he  arranged  that  in  this  period 
of  the  world's  history  I  should  be  born  and  live. 
If  one  fails  of  being  good,  it  is  because  he  chooses 
the  evil. 


CONTEXTS. 

Chapter  I.  Parents   9 

Chapter  II.         School  Days    16 

Chapter  III.       Conversion  23 

Chapter  IV.       Marriage  30 

Chapter  V.         Licensed  to  Preach 35 

Chapter  VI.       A  TraveHng  Preacher 41 

Chapter  \'II.     An  Itinerant  in  War  Times 52 

Chapter  \TII.  TraveHng  Preacher,  Presiding" 
Elder,  General  Conference  Dele- 
gate     62 

Chapter  IX.       A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies 71 


CHAPTER  I. 

Parents. 

My  parents,  Isaac  Baldwin  and  Sarah  Gillette, 
were  both  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  father  in 
1800,  and  mother  in  1804.  They  were  married 
by  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  in  1822.  Soon  after  their 
marriage  they  moved  to  Burlington,  Hartford 
County,  Connecticut,  where  I  was  born  December 
15,  1824,  being  the  first  born  of  eight  sons,  there 
being  no  daughters. 

Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  at 
times  was  absent-minded. 
On  the  day  of  the  wedding 
of  my  father  and  mother, 
the  preacher  had  one  of 
these  lapses  of  memory. 
Mother's  home  was  three 
miles  northeast  of  Litch- 
field, and  there  the  guests, 
sixty  in  number,  were 
gathered  at  ten  o'clock  for 
the  marriage  ceremony. 
Ten  o'clock  arrived  and  no 
preacher  appeared.  At 
twelve  o'clock  a  messenger  was  sent  to  look  up  Dr. 
Beecher,  and  it  was  learned  that  he  had  gone  to 
Bantan  Lake,  three  miles  southwest  of  town,  on 
a  fishing  excursion,  having  forgotten  all  about  the 


^yuU^,^ 


10        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

wedding  in  his  quest  of  fish.  Dr.  Beecher  was 
found,  and  reached  the  place  of  the  wedding  cere- 
mony at  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  all  was  as 
merry  as  a  marriage  bell.  The  circumstance  was 
the  occasion  of  much  merriment  in  the  town  for 
many  years.  On  a  visit  to  the  old  place  thirty 
years  afterward,  when  the  older  people  learned  that 
I  was  the  son  of  Isaac  Baldwin,  whom  old  Dr. 
Beecher  came  very  nearly  not  marrying,  they 
laughed  as  heartily  as  ever.  ]\Iany  pleasantries 
were  indulged  in  concerning  my  narrow  escape 
from  having  no  father  or  mother.  But  Isaac  Bald- 
win and  Sarah  Gillette  were  both  members  of  Dr. 
Beecher's  church,  and  I  suppose  he  knew  they  were 
foreordained    not    to   get    away. 

When  I  was  between  four  and  five  years  of  age 
my  father  sold  his  place  at  Burlington  and  moved 
to  Litchfield,  where  he  rented  the  farm  formerly 
owned  by  my  maternal  grandfather,  a  hilly,  rocky, 
thin-soiled  farm,  but  fine  for  apples  and  pears,  with 
springs  of  pure  water,  just  the  place  to  lay  a  good 
base  for  robust  health.  The  farm  was  three  miles 
northeast  of  Litchfield  Town  Hill,  as  it  was  called. 
It  was  mother's  home,  the  place  of  her  l)irt1i,  both 
natural  and  spiritual. 

The  story  of  my  mother's  conversion,  told  to  me 
when  I  was  seven  years  old,  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion upon  me. 

One  beautiful  September  evening  my  mother  with 
a  few  of  the  young  persons  of  the  vicinity  went  to 
the  little  red  schoolhouse,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 


OS 

Ox 


2  i 


Parents.  1 1 

from  her  home  to  hear  the  eccentric  Lorenzo  Dow 
preach.  The  appointment  had  been  made  by  him 
one  year  previous. 

At  the  time  there  was  great  excitement  over  the 
noted  preacher,  who  was  a  ''Billy"  Sunday  of  his 
day.  The  people  flocked  to  hear  him,  the  old  and 
the  young,  the  curious  and  the  critical,  saints  and 
sinners,  all  eager  to  hear  what  he  would  say  next. 

On  that  particular  evening  when  my  mother 
went  to  hear  him,  his  subject  was  prayer.  "Would 
God  hear  and  answer  prayer,  and  is  it  possible 
for  us  to  know  that  our  sins  are  pardoned?" 
Mother  said  he  made  it  so  plain  to  her  that  there 
could  be  but  one  answer  to  the  question.  It  was  a 
blessed,  astounding  fact,  and  nearly  a  new  reve- 
lation to  her  and  to  most  of  his  hearers,  for  they 
had  never  regarded  salvation  in  that  light  before. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  the  preacher  proposed 
that  the  audience  test  the  matter  in  the  following 
manner :  All  those  who  would  dare  to  sincerely 
pray  in  secret  twice  a  day  for  four  weeks  arise  to 
their  feet,  and  by  this  act  make  their  vow  in  the 
sight  of  God  and  men  and  angels.  In  four  weeks 
he  was  to  preach  in  the  schoolhouse  again.  Twenty 
persons  arose,  my  mother  being  one  of  the  number. 
She  said  that  the  crowd  was  as  solemn  and  serious 
as  if  it  had  been  a  funeral. 

As  the  young  people  returned  to  their  homes 
from  the  service  they  were  quiet  and  thoughtful. 
They  separated  at  her  father's  house  bidding  her  a 
pleasant  good-night.    She  stood  a  moment  watching 


12        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

them  as  they  walked  along  the  highway,  the  moon 
shining  clear  and  bright,  and  as  she  stood  there 
the  thought  of  the  vow  she  had  made  that  evening 
to  pray  twice  a  day  for  four  weeks  came  to  her  with 
wonderful  impressiveness.  "Why  not  begin  to- 
night?" came  a  question  as  in  an  audible  voice.  It 
was  so  distinct  as  to  be  irresistible,  and  immediately 
she  began  to  pour  out  her  soul  for  light  and  divine 
satisfaction.  The  struggle  was  hard  and  pro- 
tracted, but  the  victory  came,  and  so  complete  was 
it  that  for  sixty  years  she  never  expressed  a  doubt 
as  to  her  prayer  being  heard  and  answered. 

One  pleasant  Sabbath  afternoon  mother  related 
the  story  of  her  conversion  to  us  boys.  She  said 
that  one  thing  that  quite  surprised  her  was  that 
on  entering  the  house  she  discovered  that  it  was 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

I  was  seven  years  old  and  my  brother  four  at 
the  time  she  related  her  experience  to  us.  As 
she  finished  telling  the  old,  old  story,  we  sang  a 
hymn  together,  then  all  knelt  about  the  old  kitchen 
chair,  where  our  mother  poured  her  soul  out  in 
simple,  earnest  prayer  to  God  that  her  boys  might 
early  find  the  Pearl  of  great  price,  and  if  it  should 
be  his  will,  that  they  might  be  spared  to  grow  up 
to  be  good  men  and  preachers  of  the  gospel. 

We  boys  often  said  in  after  years  that  we  never 
have  heard  a  testimony  of  prayer  that  followed  us 
everywhere  as  the  simple  story  of  that  Sabbath  after- 
noon, and  now  after  eighty  years  are  passed  away 
the  scene  is  as  plainly  fixed  upon  memory's  page 


Parents.  13 

as  if  it  had  occurred  but  yesterday.  How  could 
we  get  away  from  such  a  mother!  She  Hved  to 
see  her  prayer  answered  in  regard  to  both  of  us. 
She  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when  converted,  and 
passed  on  before  at  the  age  of  eighty. 

In  our  home,  family  worship  was  maintained 
with  strictness,  and  the  duty  of  obedience  to  all 
law,  whether  of  God,  the  government,  or  the  home, 
was  taught  us.  Parental  authority,  when  exercised 
in  the  Lord,  was  to  be  obeyed  without  questioning. 
I  have  heard  father  say,  ''Boys,  you  must  obey 
the  rules  of  this  house  if  you  stay  here  till  you 
are  forty  years  old."  This  was  said  when  some 
of  the  boys  showed  a  disinclination  to  be  quiet  dur- 
ing the  hour  for  family  worship. 

The  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  sacred  day  was 
insisted  upon,  and  it  v/as  rigidly  observed  in  all 
the  country  in  which  my  youthful  days  were  passed. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  is  reported  to  have  said  that 
the  roosters  crowed  psalm  tunes  on  the  Sabbath 
in  New  England.  I  do  not  remember  hearing 
them  do  it,  but  I  do  remember  that  there  was  no 
cooking  done  on  that  day,  which  was  kept  from 
sundown  on  Saturday  until  sundown  on  Sabbath. 
A  holy  calm  was  upon  all  nature.  I  may  be  thought 
to  be  Puritanical,  but  I  would  greatly  prefer  the 
quiet  of  the  New  England  Sabbath  to  the  noise  and 
cheering  and  baseball  games  of  the  present  Lord's 
day. 

]\Iy  parents  were  members  of  Dr.  Lyman 
Beecher's   church,  and  when  they  moved  to   Bur- 


14        Autobiography  of  Rez'.  J.  G.  Baldivin. 

lington  took  their  certificates  of  membership  with 
them,  and  on  their  return  to  Litchfield  their  mem- 
bership was  again  placed  in  their  home  church, 
where  it  remained  until  they  removed  to  Ohio,  in 
1841.  Arriving  in  Ohio,  they  did  not  unite  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  worshiped  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  and  United  Brethren  churches 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  home. 

After  I  entered  the  itinerant  ministry  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  they  had  moved  to 
a  locality  west  of  VVadsworth,  Ohio,  in  1855,  I 
held  a  meeting  in  the  schoolhouse  of  their  district, 
and  organized  a  new  society  of  United  Brethren. 
When  the  invitation  was  extended  for  membership 
to  my  great  surprise  and  joy  my  parents  came, 
with  others,  to  receive  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship in  the  United  Brethren  Church.  They  had  not 
told  me  of  their  purpose,  and  I  was  greatly  aston- 
ished, and  for  a  time  did  not  know  whether  my  feet 
were  on  the  earth  or  in  the  air. 

In  1857,  my  parents  moved  to  Ganges,  Allegan 
County,  Michigan,  where  two  of  my  younger 
brothers  had  gone  to  carve  out  a  home  in  the  woods. 
There  was  no  preaching  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church  in  that  vicinity,  but  father  heard  of  a 
preacher  living  some  forty  miles  northeast  of 
Ganges.  Immediately  he  visited  him,  and  was  suc- 
cessful in  securing  him  to  hold  a  series  of  meetings 
at  their  schoolhouse.  The  revival  meetings  were 
held  in  due  time,  people  were  converted,  a  church 
was  organized,  a  house  of  worship  was  built,  and  a 


Parents.  15 

circuit  of  six  appointments  had  grown  up  when  I 
visited  my  parents  in  1863. 

Father  and  mother  were  greatly  devoted  to  the 
work  in  that  locahty,  and  alwa\s  insisted  upon  call- 
ing it  my  circuit,  and  engaged  me  to  come  and 
preach  for  them  at  all  the  appointments.  That  was 
in  1863,  when  the  Civil  War  caused  much  distrac- 
tion. Alore  than  twenty  years  later  another  source 
of  distraction  arose  by  reason  of  the  forward  step 
the  United  Brethren  took  in  1885  regarding  its 
dealing  with  secret  societies.  I  hear  that  the  bitter- 
ness incident  to  those  days  has  largely  passed  away, 
and  it  is  the  hope  of  all  that  peace  and  harmony 
may  prevail,  and  the  w^ork  of  the  Church  go  for- 
ward with  new  impetus. 

My  parents  continued  to  pray  and  labor  in  this 
locality  to  the  end  of  their  earthly  lives.  After 
fifty-seven  years  of  wedded  life,  on  August  15, 
1879,  father  passed  over  the  river  to  his  eternal 
rest,  and  on  the  21st  day  of  the  next  March  my 
mother  followed  on.  They  are  buried  in  a  beauti- 
ful cemetery  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, where  the  waters  of  the  lake  seem  to  be  sing- 
ing a  lullaby  to  soothe  them  to  rest  until  the  sum- 
mons shall  come  to  them  to  arise  from  their  dusty 
couch  and  meet  the  King  in  his  beauty  and  to  live 
with  him  and  his  loved  ones  forevermore. 


CHAPTER  II. 
School  Days. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  attend  six  district 
schools,  and  to  have  three  terms  at  an  academy  in 
X'orfolk,  Connecticut,  in  preparation  for  entering 
Yale.    This  hope  was  never  realized. 

The  first  district  school  that  I  attended  was  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  my  home  nordieast  of  Litch- 
field. Across  the  rocks,  hills,  and  huckleberry 
patches  I  trudged  for  some  four  years.  Then  mov- 
ing northeast  of  the  Town  Hill,  my  place  was  in  a 
school  a  mile  from  the  courthouse,  which  I  attend- 
ed until  I  was  thirteen.  One  winter  was  spent  with 
an  uncle  at  Farmington,  Connecticut,  where  I  did 
chores  and  attended  school.  The  next  winter  I  was 
at  my  grandmother's  on  East  Litchfield  Hill,  where 
I  attended  a  little  red  schoolhouse  and  added  to  my 
stock  of  knowledge.  On  moving  to  Sheron,  Con- 
necticut, I  attended  the  district  school  two  terms, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  one-half  years  I 
landed  safe  and  sound  at  Norfolk  Academy,  to 
grapple  with  the  higher  branches  of  English  educa- 
tion. The  three  terms  spent  in  the  academy  were 
of  great  benefit  to  me,  as  I  there  was  led  to  see 
that  there  were  vast  fields  of  knowledge  that  before 
I  had  not  dreamed  of.  Then,  alas,  for  my  hopes! 
we  sold  out  and  hiked  to  the  woods  of  Ohio,  when 
I  supposed  my  opportunities  for  more  learning  were 
at  an  end. 


School  Days.  17 

In  the  autumn  after  our  arrival  in  Ohio,  my 
father  said  to  me :  "Don't  you  think  you  could  teach 
school  over  in  Wayne  County  if  you  tried  ?  I  think 
you  can,  and  I  have  boys  enough  to  help  me  in  the 
wagon  shop  without  you.  I  will  give  you  your 
time,  and  you  go  and  see  what  you  can  do." 

I  thanked  him  and  started  at  once  to  secure  a 
school.  The  first  one  I  applied  for  was  southeast 
of  Burbank,  Wayne  County,  Ohio.  I  interviewed 
three  directors  who  appeared  pleased  to  employ  me 
at  $10.50  a  month  and  board.  The  board  was  to  be 
secured  among  the  patrons  of  the  school. 

Xow  the  procuring  of  a  certificate  to  teach  was 
the  cause  of  some  anxiety.  The  day  after  securing 
the  school  I  set  out  for  Wooster,  the  county  seat  of 
Wayne  County.  Arriving  in  the  town  I  made  in- 
quiry at  a  dry-goods  store  for  the  officials  who  were 
authorized  to  issue  a  teacher's  certificate.  The  man 
of  whom  I  made  the  inquiry  informed  me  that  one 
of  the  examiners,  Mr.  Schugars,  was  a  bookkeeper 
in  the  store.  I  was  introduced  to  him,  and  he  in- 
formed me  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  look  up  the 
other  two  examiners,  as  he  had  the  authority  to 
do  the  work,  and  to  issue  a  certificate  if  the  ex- 
amination proved  satisfactory.  He  remarked  that 
he  was  greatly  pleased  to  have  a  young  man  so  re- 
cently from  the  Eastern  schools  to  come  among  the 
Wayne  County  people  to  teach,  believing  that  some 
new  ideas  in  teaching  might  thus  be  secured.  By 
the  time  the  examiner  was  through  with  his  en- 
couraging speech  my  trepidation  was  all  gone,  and 


18        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldivin. 

I  was  ready  for  the  examination,  let  it  be  what 
it  may. 

My  examination  was  about  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Baldwin,  you  may  please  write  a  sentence 
on  this  sheet  of  paper." 

I  wrote  the  sentence,  "He  that  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear." 

After  scanning  the  writing  a  moment  he  said, 
"The  writing  is  good  enough ;  you  may  please  parse 
the  sentence." 

This  I  did  to  his  satisfaction,  except  that  we  dis- 
agreed as  to  the  part  of  speech  "that"  is.  In  the 
dispute  that  followed  I  told  him  he  was  certainly 
mistaken  and  gave  my  reasons,  whereupon  he  ad- 
mitted that  I  was  right.  ;  , 

Then  I  was  asked  to  bound  the  State  of  Ohio, 
which  I  did,  and  the  certificate  was  forthwith  is- 
sued, and  I  paid  the  fee  of  seventy-five  cents.  The 
examiner  volunteered  the  information  that  many 
persons  came  to  be  examined  who  were  not  able 
to  bound  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  with  that  revela- 
tion I  thought  it  was  about  time  for  some  light  from 
the  East. 

Armed  with  my  certificate  I  was  prepared  to  en- 
ter upon  my  duties  as  a  school-teacher.  My  school 
enrolled  sixty-nine  pupils  of  all  ages,  sizes,  and 
sorts,  and  it  met  in  a  log  schoolhouse  eighteen  by 
tv/enty-four  feet  in  size.  Aly  work  began  Novem- 
ber 1,  1841,  and  I  had  to  put  in  twenty-six  days  a 
month.  There  was  no  uniformity  in  text-books, 
there  being  five  kinds  of  arithmetics,  two  of  spelling 


ScJiooJ  Days.  19 

books,  a  dozen  different  readers,  and  three  varieties 
of  geographies,  but  there  was  not  a  grammar  of  any 
kind.  The  people  generally  deemed  grammar  un- 
necessary, and  many  in  the  district  were  opposed  to 
its  being  taught,  although  it  was  agreed  that  I 
might  try  it. 

School  was  opened  each  morning  with  a  short 
scripture  reading  and  with  singing  and  prayer,  and 
if  there  was  any  opposition  to  such  a  proceeding  it 
did  not  appear.  The  patrons  of  the  school  were 
mostly  members  of  the  church,  and  as  I  boarded 
around  I  was  called  upon  to  conduct  the  family 
worship. 

The  school  I  taught  liad  ll:e  practice  of  barring 
out  the  teacher  of  the  schoolhouse  at  Christmas  or 
Xew  Year's,  sometimes  on  both  days,  and  demand- 
ing a  treat  of  some  sort  before  they  would  allow 
him  to  enter  and  proceed  with  his  work.  A  hint  of 
such  doings  came  to  my  ears  a  few  days  before 
Christmas.  }vly  plan  was  this  :  I  would  treat  the 
school,  but  I  believed  all  would  feel  better  if  they 
would  omit  the  old  barring  out  custom  that  might 
cause  trouble  and  spoil  the  fellowship  of  the  oc- 
casion. The  older  scholars  readily  agreed  to  my 
plan,  and  I  cast  about  to  hnd  something  suitable 
for  the  treat.  I  purposed  to  make  a  holiday  of  tlie 
day,  when  no  school  work  should  be  done.  We 
were  to  have  the  treat  at  the  proper  time,  after 
which  we  would  have  ball  games,  races,  wrestling, 
jumping,  and  other  athletics.  Fighting  was  to  be 
barred  because  it  v/as  Christmas  Day.    There  were 


20        Autobiography  of  Rcz'.  J.  G.  Baldzviii. 

to  be  plenty  of  Rambo  apples,  which  I  was  sure 
could  be  found  in  my  grand  uncle's  cellar,  for  I 
had  helped  to  store  them  in  the  fall,  and  they  were 
the  finest  I  ever  saw.  It  makes  my  mouth  water 
as  I  write  about  them.  In  addition  there  were  to 
be  doughnuts  in  abundance,  such  as  my  mother 
made. 

On  Christmas  morning,  assisted  by  my  two  broth- 
ers and  some  of  their  boy  chums,  we  toted  the 
bags  and  baskets  containing  the  apples  and  douc^h- 
nuts  toward  the  schoolhouse.  Arriving  there  we 
found  the  doors  barred  and  filled  with  the  yoimg- 
sters  of  the  district.  We  expected  some  resistance, 
but  when  our  barricaded  opponents  beheld  the  boys 
and  baskets  their  belligerency  subsided,  and  they 
soon  capitulated.  We  entered  and  after  a  song 
suited  to  the  day  and  occasion,  the  treat  was  dis- 
tributed. The  day  was  spent  in  sports  and  con- 
tests, and  without  a  fight  or  an  oath  or  a  jar.  We 
had  some  sweet  cider,  but  there  was  nothing  to  in- 
toxicate. The  sentiment  in  the  community  was  such 
that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  intoxicants  Vv^ere  not 
used  at  log  rollings,  barn  raisings,  harvests,  wed- 
dings, or  funerals. 

I  w^as  eighteen  years  of  age  ten  days  before  the 
Christmas  treat,  and  had  boarded  in  nearly  all  the 
homes  of  the  district.  Having  started  in  with  fam- 
ily prayers  in  the  first  home  in  which  I  boarded,  I 
continued  the  practice  and  was  not  once  forbidden 
in  the  entire  district.  I  have  sometimes  wondered 
at  my  temerity,  but  I  had  found  the  Pearl  of  great 


School  Days.  21 

price  on  the  19th  of  the  preceding  August,  and 
soon  learned  that  God's  law  was  ''use  or  lose."  It 
was  to  use  the  grace  that  was  given  me  that  I 
led  in  the  family  worship  in  the  homes  where  I 
boarded.  I  enjoyed  this  service  well,  but  in  some 
homes  it  was  not  easy  to  do  my  duty. 

There  was  one  patron  who  sent  five  bright  chil- 
dren to  the  school.  He  was  reported  to  me  to  be 
an  infidel  and  a  wily  critic.  When  the  time  came 
for  me  to  board  in  this  home  I  had  great  trepida- 
tion. Would  it  be  right  for  me  to  omit  the  family 
worship  feature  of  my  program?  So  great  was  my 
anxiety  that  I  spent  a  week  in  much  thought  and 
earnest  prayer.  The  resolve  finally  was  made  that 
at  the  first  meal  I  vx-ould  wait  for  him  to  give  me  an 
invitation  to  ask  the  blessing  before  eating,  as  he 
knev/  that  to  be  my  practice  at  other  homes.  In 
due  time  all  were  seated  about  the  well-filled  table, 
and  a  painful  pause  ensued,  my  heart  thumping  so 
loud  that  I  thought  others  must  hear  it.  All  at 
once,  without  any  explanations  or  preliminaries,  my 
host  said,  ''Do  your  duty,  Jimmie.''  Of  course,  I 
said  grace  and  felt  free  to  conduct  family  worship 
vrith  prayer  and  song. 

The  next  summer  I  met  this  man  on  a  public 
road,  when  he  gave  me  the  sad  story  of  his  life — 
how  he  had  left  his  home,  his  kindred  knowing  noth- 
ing of  his  whereabouts ;  how  he  had  lived  a  double 
life,  his  family  knowing  nothing  of  his  former  ir- 
regularities. After  my  marriage  I  lived  on  a  farm 
adjoining  his,  and  he  often  confided  to  me  the  state 


22        Autobiography  of  Rei'.  J.  G.  Baldivin. 

of  his  mind,  confessing  the  terrible  mistake  he  had 
made,  and  with  tears  besought  me  to  remember  him 
in  my  })rayers.  He  often  thanked  me  for  my  inter- 
est in  him  and  his  family,  and  thus  I  was  rewarded 
for  my  faithfulness  in  his  home. 

I  have  great  reason  to  thank  God  for  the  train- 
ing I  thus  received  in  my  early  Christian  life.  I 
was  led  to  pray  n.nich  in  secret  for  help  in  doing 
my  duty  in  the  homes  where  I  lived.  Boarding 
around  was  a  fine  school  for  the  study  of  human  na- 
ture, living  among  all  sorts  of  people  and  need- 
ing a  good  deal  of  tact  in  many  of  my  relations  to 
them. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Conversion. 

For  a  year  and  a  half  before  coming  to  Ohio, 
I  was  in  great  distress  of  mind  concerning  my 
spiritual  state.  I  was  rather  glad  to  move  into  a 
new  country,  to  break  away  from  my  old  compan- 
ions and  form  new  associations,  with  the  hope  that 
under  the  new  circumstances  the  atmosphere  might 
be  more  favorable  for  me  to  lead  a  genuine  Chris- 
tian life.  I  expected  there  to  find  less  of  tempta- 
tion and  fewer  allurements  to  draw  me  into  paths 
of  folly  and  sin.  Days  and  nights  were  spent  in 
prayer  and  anguish  of  spirit,  and  the  journey  to 
the  new  country  was  hailed  with  gladness. 

In  due  time  I  found  myself  with  my  parents  and 
family  located  in  the  southern  part  of  Medina 
County,  Ohio,  arriving  the  14th  day  of  May,  1841. 
A  place  was  found  for  me  to  work  on  the  farm  of 
my  mother's  uncle,  where  the  summer  was  occu- 
pied in  the  usual  varied  tasks  of  farm  life.  In  the 
fall,  with  the  farm  work  well  in  hand,  and  the 
ground  plowed  and  ready  for  wheat  sowing,  I  felt 
that  I  could  be  spared  for  a  few  days.  On  the 
morning  of  August  18,  1841,  I  said  to  my  grand 
uncle,  "I  would  like  to  go  to  the  camp  meeting  over 
Sabbath  and  see  what  it  looks  like." 

"This  is  Friday,"  he  said,  ''and  you  may  rig 
up  right  away  and  stay  over  Sunday,  if  you  want 


24        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldnnn. 

to,  but  don't  get  in  with  the  rowdies  and  make  a 
disturbance." 

He  explained  that  often  a  lot  of  hoodlums  from 
the  towns  round  about  would  go  to  the  camp  meet- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  making  a  disturbance.  "Don't 
get  into  their  company/'  he  said.  I  told  him  that 
it  was  far  from  my  thought  to  join  such  a  crowd, 
as  ever  since  I  could  remember  I  had  felt  that  I 
would  like  to  give  such  fellows  a  good  thrashing, 
if  it  were  in  my  power. 

After  dinner  I  started  for  the  camp  meeting, 
which  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  where  I 
worked.  When  about  half  the  journey  was  com- 
pleted I  came  to  a  place  where  a  large  sycamore  had 
stood,  and  the  road  had  been  filled  up  so  as  to  be 
even  with  the  top  of  the  stump.  I  stopped  on  the 
stump,  and  this  question  came  to  my  mind,  "Why 
am  I  going  to  the  camp  meeting?"  In  answering 
this  mental  question  I  said  to  myself  that  it  is  a 
new  and  strange  thing  to  me,  as  I  have  never  been 
to  a  meeting  of  the  kind,  and  I  want  to  see  if  there 
is  a  chance  for  me  to  become  a  Christian.  I 
thought  that  perhaps  there  would  be  present  some 
one  who  could  show  me  liow  to  be  a  Christian,  bet- 
ter than  I  had  ever  known.  Then  another  thought 
came,  "Would  I  act  if  I  knew  how  ?"  That  ques- 
tion revealed  to  me  the  true  difficulty.  I  was  a  cow- 
ard. I  wanted  peace  with  God,  but  was  ashame  1 
to  let  any  one  know  it.  I  had  expected  to  serve  the 
Lord  in  secret.  It  became  apparent  to  me  that 
Satan   was   defeating  me   through   my   cowardice. 


Conversion.  25 

There,  upon  that  sycamore  stump,  I  vowed  that 
if  at  the  camp  meeting  an  opportunity  should  be 
given  me  to  show  my  colors  and  to  tell  in  public 
that  it  was  my  desire  to  be  a  Christian,  I  would 
at  once  accept  the  opportunity,  even  if  it  killed  me. 
My  unrest  had  become  unbearable,  and  I  could  en- 
dure it  no  longer.  Immediately  a  sense  of  relief 
came  to  me,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  had  wings,  and  in 
this  frame  of  mind  I  continued  my  way  until  I  came 
in  sight  and  hearing  of  the  camp.  All  at  once  it 
occurred  to  me  that  the  crowd  and  the  new  and 
strange  surroundings  might  frighten  me,  and  that 
I  would  continue  to  show  myself  a  coward.  There- 
upon I  again  vowed,  as  when  I  stood  on  that  stump 
alone  before  God,  that  I  would  publicly  confess 
Christ. 

The  first  sermon  preached  that  evening  was  by 
Rev.  John  McNal,  His  text  was  ''He,  that  being 
often  reproved  hardeneth  his  neck,  shall  suddenly 
be  destroved,  and  that  without  remedv."  Proverbs 
29:1. 

The  text  itself  fit  me.  As  the  preacher  proceeded, 
he  portrayed  my  life,  and  I  could  not  help  asking, 
"How  does  the  preacher  know  all  about  my  condi- 
tion?" The  sermon  was  a  voice  from  heaven  to 
me,  and  I  saw  that  to  refuse  to  act  would  be  at  a 
fearful  risk. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  discourse  the  preacher 
exhorted  his  unconverted  hearers  to  cease  fight- 
ing against  God,  and  to  do  it  at  once  and  forever, 


26        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

since  it  was  an  unequal  contest,  and  no  mortal  could 
ever  win. 

The  mourner's  bench  was  now  introduced,  and 
greatly  to  my  relief  I  saw  at  once  how  I  could  pub- 
licly part  company  with  Satan.  My  cowardice  was 
gone,  and  there  was'  a  great  desire  to  kneel  at  that 
humble  place.  Without  waiting  for  further  plead- 
ing I  arose  and  went  to  the  mourner's  b':nch,  the 
first  one  to  reach  it.  Glancing  about,  I  noticed  that 
there  were  a  number  of  others  kneeling  with  me, 
about  twenty  altogether. 

As  I  kneeled  my  first  thought  was,  now  I  am  no 
longer  a  slave  of  Satan,  but  I  soon  found  there  was 
a  fierce  contest  awaiting  me.  Satan  would  not  let 
me  go  so  easily.  The  first  person  to  come  to  in- 
struct me  was  a  man  with  whom  I  had  had  dealings, 
and  who  had  tried  to  cheat  me,  as  I  believed.  At 
this  there  came  to  me  the  thought  of  getting  up  and 
leaving  the  place  in  disgust.  On  second  thought  I 
said  to  myself  that  that  would  never  do,  that  I  was 
before  God  with  a  sincere  purpose  to  find  peace. 

The  battle  proceeded  until  about  eleven  o'clock 
when  light  from  heaven  came  streaming  into  mv 
soul,  and  my  whole  being  was  overwhelmed  with  it. 
I  felt  that  I  was  new  through  and  through.  It 
seemed  that  a  voice  said  to  me,  "Son,  thy  sins, 
which  are  many,  are  forgiven  thee,  go  in  peace 
and  sin  no  more."  In  that  light  and  in  the  sound 
of  that  voice  I  have  traveled  over  life's  thorny  road 
with  much  joy  and  cheerfulness  for  more  than  sev- 


Conversion.  27 

entv  years,  and  often  and  often  have  I  given  thanks 
to  God  for  giving  me  such  a  good  start. 

The  duty  of  joining  church  had  next  to  be  con^ 
sidered.  As  I  had  been  converted  at  a  ISIethodist 
Episcopal  camp  meeting,  that  church  had  first 
claims  upon  me  by  reason  of  conquest,  but  when  I 
considered  their  practice  of  closed  doors  at  class 
meetino-s  and  love  feasts,  and  the  rule  requiring  a 
probation  of  six  months  on  the  part  of  new  mem- 
bers, and  some  other  features  of  their  discipline,  all 
of  which  were  rigidly  adhered  to,  I  found  them 
out  of  harmony  with  my  views  of  the  Bible  plan. 
After  some  delay  and  much  persuasion  and  advice. 
I  consented  to  the  six  months  of  trial  in  which 
time  I  should  endeavor  to  learn  more  of  the  polity 
of  that  church. 

Vx' hen  the  six  months  had  expired  the  probation- 
ers were  expected  to  answer  several  questions  be- 
fore being  received  into  full  membership.  \\'hen  the 
question  was  asked,  "Do  you  subscribe  to  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  discipline,  and  are  you  willing  to 
be  governed  by  it,"  I  replied  that  I  was  not  able 
to  do  this,  an.d  my  probation  was  extended. 

About  this  time  there  arose  a  strife  in  that  locality 
in  regard  to  the  authority  of  the  preachers  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  there  being  many  who 
claimed  that  the  laity  of  the  Church  had  no  voice 
in  its  government,  all  power  being  in  the  hands  of 
the  clergy.  In  this  controversy  over  the  matter  of 
church  government  about  sixty  of  the  members 
withdrew,  and  for  a  space  of  a  year  we  held  serv- 


28        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzciu. 

ices  in  private  houses.  Preachers  of  various  faiths, 
as  the  Lutherans,  Wesleyans,  and  others  came  to 
preach  to  us,  and  each  sought  to  sweep  us  all  into 
his  net. 

Finally  a  little  man  with  a  big  voice  came  among 
us,  and  preached  and  visited  through  the  commun- 
ity, insisting  that  it  would  never  do  to  have  good 
sheep  so  scattered.  His  name  was  Joseph  Wal- 
dorph.  By  circulating  the  Book  of  Discipline  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ  he  persuaded  six  persons 
to  unite  Vv^ith  that  denomination  in  church  fellow- 
ship. Afterwards,  on  January  1,  1843,  myself  and 
v/ife  with  some  forty  others  cast  our  lot  with  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  I  subscribed  for  the 
Church  paper,  The  Religious  Telescope.  We  were 
uniting  with  a  Church  that  had  no  college  or 
school,  and  only  three  log  houses  of  worship  that 
we  knew  anything  about,  and  not  a  doctor  of  divin- 
ity in  all  her  borders. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Joseph  Waldorph,  we 
soon  built  a  frame  house  of  worship.  A.  Simpkins, 
William  Stiles,  E.  Sluts,  S.  C.  Stewart,  John  Todd, 
and  others  were  our  pastors  and  presiding  elders. 
The  Weavers  had  been  with  us  a  few  times  in  our 
disorganized  condition.  Among  the  first  sermons 
preached  by  Jonathan  Weaver,  afterwards  the  great 
bishop,  was  one  delivered  during  that  time  in  the 
home  of  Willian  Lamm.  The  house  was  crowded, 
every  room  being  filled,  and  after  preaching  there 
was  much  praying  with  a  number  of  conversions, 
the   singing  and  shouting  lasting  until   after  mid- 


Conversion.  29 

night.  Rev.  Alexander  Biddle  was  the  first 
United  Brethren  preacher  I  ever  heard.  He  visited 
in  my  home  for  a  week  when  he  was  eighty-six 
years  of  age.  It  was  a  time  of  pleasant  reminis- 
cence with  us,  and  we  greatly  rejoiced  together  to 
note  how  the  Church  had  prospered  in  the  half  cen- 
tury since  we  first  met.  Churches,  colleges,  denom- 
inational institutions  had  been  established,  and  the 
membership  increased  from  30,000  to  250,000.  "To 
our  Lord  be  all  the  glory.  Amen,"  exclaimed  the  old 
warrior. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Marriage. 

The  marriage  day  came  on  apace,  and  two  hearts 
beat  as  one. 

Miss  Eleanor  Lawrence  was  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Aaron  B.  and  Mirtilla  Lawrence,  of  Canaan, 
Wayne  County,  Ohio.  Both  parents  were  born  in 
that  county,  the  mother  being  the  first  white  child 
born  in  what  aftenvards  became  the.  town  of  Woos- 
ter,  the  county  seat,  but  at  the  time  of  her  birth, 
1809,  it  was  far  from  being  a  town. 

The  one  who  was  to  be  my  wife,  was  converted 
at  the  same  camp  meeting  where  I  was,  as  I  learned 
afterwards,  she  lacking  a  month  of  being  twelve 
years  of  age.  She  was  one  of  my  pupils  in  the  first 
school  that  I  taught  in  that  district,  and  I  boarded 
at  her  home,  where  I  noted  that  she  was  a  diffident, 
but  obedient  and  dutiful  daughter.  She  was  also 
pious  and  devoted  to  her  Christian  duties  in  a 
quiet,  determined  way,  and  it  came  to  me  that  she 
should  be  my  wife.  However,  she  was  five  years 
my  junior,  but  I  solved  that  difficulty  by  deciding 
that  I  could  wait  four  years,  or  perhaps  a  little 
longer,  as  I  was  only  eighteen. 

When  my  winter  school  term  closed  her  father 
asked  me  as  to  my  plans  for  the  summer.  I  told 
him  that  it  was  my  desire  to  get  work  on  a  farm  in 
that  vicinity  if  possible.  He  said  that  he  needed  a 
hand,  and  ofifered  me  as  pay  the  same  as  I  had 
received  for  teaching,  $10.50  a  month  and  board. 


J    G.  BALDWIN  AND  WIFE 
Two  Years  after  Marriage 


MRS.  BALDWIN  AND  SON  CHARLES  McKEXDRIE— Aged  Five 


Marriage.  31 

It  was  then  sugar-making  time,  and  I  could  go  to 
work  at  once.  I  accepted  the  proposition,  but  said 
that  as  the  day  was  Saturday  and  that  I  desired  to 
go  to  W^ooster  to  get  my  money  for  my  teaching, 
I  would  be  ready  to  begin  work  on  ?\Ionday. 
Thus  the  contract  was  m.ade  and  on  to  Wooster  I 
went,  feeling  that  somehow  my  fortune  was  already 
secure. 

The  farm  work  I  found  to  be  strenuous.  After 
the  sugar  and  syrup  making,  came  plowing  for 
oats  and  sowing.  Then  came  corn  planting,  fol- 
lowed by  the  harvest  of  clover  for  hay.  Then  forty- 
six  acres  of  wheat  had  to  be  cut  by  hand  in  one  way 
and  another,  and  be  bound  in  sheaves  and  be  stored 
in  the  barn.  Then  came  the  threshing  of  some 
twelve  hundred  bushels  of  grain,  followed  by  corn 
cutting  and  corn  husking,  potato  digging,  the  butch- 
ering of  perhaps  a  dozen  hogs,  besides  a  beef  and 
several  sheep.  How  much  there  was  to  do  on  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres ! 

But  with  all  the  vs^ork  we  attended  church  twice 
on  Sabbath  and  prayer  meeting  every  midweek, 
while  family  prayers  were  held  each  morning  and 
evening.  With  so  many  things  to  do  and  the  time 
so  fully  occupied,  one  might  think  that  there  was 
no  time  left  for  courting.  But  a  smile  for  the 
one  who  was  the  choice  of  the  heart  received  the 
answering  smile  and  I  felt  encouraged.  In  due 
time,  I  ventured  to  ask  the  important  question, 
which  was  answered  in  the  affirmative,  but  the 
exact  words  of  the  question  and  answer  I  am  un- 


2)2        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

able  to  recall.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  agreement 
was  satisfactory  to  all  concerned,  and  on  the  31st 
day  of  December,  1846,  we  were  declared  husband 
and  wife.  The  ceremony,  performed  by  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Emerson,  a  Lutheran  pastor,  made  it  plain  to 
us  that  we  were  to  cleave  to  each  other  ''until  death 
do  us  part." 

We  were  now  elected  to  remain  upon  the  farm 
and  make  our  home  there  for  a  time  at  least.  In 
some  respects  we  two,  who  had  been  made  one, 
were  the  chief  factors  in  running  the  farm. 

Two  sons  were  given  to  us.  The  first  born  was 
named  William  Emerson,  born  August  13,  1848, 
and  died  in  his  fifth  year.  The  disease  was  scarlet 
fever.  The  physician  came  a  few  hours  before  he 
passed  away,  and  after  an  examination  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  medicine  he  informed  us  that  he 
had  done  all  that  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do,  and 
that  the  child  would  leave  us  before  the  night  should 
pass.  He  then  sang  a  verse  of  song  and  offered 
a  short,  earnest  prayer  for  the  child  and  for  us,  that 
we  might  have  strength  to  pass  through  the  ordeal 
and  finally  meet  in  the  land  where  there  is  no  sick- 
ness or  parting.  Upon  the  doctor's  departure  I 
sought  to  be  alone  with  God  for  a  little  while,  and 
went  to  the  barn  and  asked  for  grace  to  know  how 
to  say,  "Thy  will  be  done."  Wlien  I  returned  to 
the  house  I  foimd  my  wife  with  the  child  in  lier 
arms,  carrying  him  about  the  room  to  re^t  him,  as 
he  had  feebly  requested.  When  I  entered  he  said 
to  his  mother,  "Lay  me  down  and  let  papa  carry 


Marriage.  33 

me,  he  is  stronger  and  can  do  it  better."  I  went 
forward  to  take  him  up  and  carry  him,  and  as  I 
leaned  over  to  Hft  him  he  exclaimed,  ''Oh,  papa, 
you  need  not  take  me ;  the  white,  bright  being:- 
have  come  to  take  me.  Don't  you  see  them?"  He 
was  gone  with  these  last  words. 

Our  second  son  was  born  June  11,  1855,  m 
Canaan,  Wayne  County,  Ohio,  and  was  named 
Charles  ]\IcKendrie.  He  died  in  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton, ^lay  28,  1900,  in  his  forty-fourth  year.  After 
attending  the  district  schools  and  the  public  schools 
of  Akron,  and  after  some  years  at  Smithville 
Academy,  he  went  to  Otterbein  University,  where 
he  graduated  in  1878.  Two  years  later  he  completed 
the  course  in  the  Homeopathic  Medical  College  in 
Cleveland,  and  married  Alice  M.  Moore.  He  began 
the  practice  of  medicine  in  Ashland,  Ohio.  After 
five  years,  on  account  of  his  wife's  health,  they 
went  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  finally  locating  in  Seattle, 
where  he  built  up  a  great  practice,  being  especially 
skillful  in  surgery. 

In  the  winter  of  1899,  a  neighboring  physician 
desiring  to  attend  medical  lectures,  secured  our 
son  to  look  after  his  patients  in  his  absence.  An 
epidemic  of  grip  and  typhoid  fever  called  for  such 
service  that  led  to  overwork.  Taking  his  bed  and 
diagnosing  his  own  case,  he  told  his  wife  that  he 
could  not  recover.  He  made  arrangements  at  once 
in  regard  to  his  affairs,  and  asked  to  be  laid  to 
rest  in  the  place  where  he  had  done  his  last  work, 
sending  to  his  parents  the  message  that  thev  were 


34        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

in  his  last  thoughts,  as  he  passed  over  to  the  home 
beyond.  He  was  a  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  a  useful  man. 

With  hesitancy  I  come  to  record  the  illness  and 
demise  of  my  beloved  wife.  After  an  illness  of  four 
months  she  peacefully  and  without  pain  or  fear 
passed  away  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  August  28, 
1910,  being  nearly  eighty  years  old. 

She  had  been  soundly  converted  on  the  19th  day 
of  August,  1841,  and  was  steadfast  until  the  Master 
called,  "Come  home."  She  was  my  companion  in 
joy,  in  sorrow,  in  toils  and  labors  abundant  for 
almost  sixty-four  years,  walking  by  my  side,  keep- 
ing step,  never  complaining  in  discouragements, 
faithful  and  hopeful  always.  She  was  a  faithful 
helper,  a  safe  counselor  and  guide  in  spiritual  af- 
fairs, always  apparently  intuitively  knowing  what 
was  right. 

I  bless  and  revere  her  precious  memory  as  she 
waits  within  the  portals  of  the  city,  just  a  little  way 
within,  watching,  I  think,  for  my  safe  arrival. 
"A  land  upon  whose  blissful  shore 
There  rests  no  shadow,  rests  no  stain ; 
And  those  who  meet  shall  part  no  more, 
And  those  long  parted,  meet  again." 


CHAPTER  V. 
Licensed  to  Preach. 

The  church  of  which  I  was  a  member,  recom- 
mended me  to  the  quarterly  conference  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  for  Hcense  to  preach.  Quarterly 
conference  met  in  my  home  church,  November  19, 
1848,  Rev.  S.  C.  Stewart  was  presiding  elder,  and 
Rev.  Eli  Slutz  was  pastor.  There  were  present 
eleven  other  members,  the  total  being  thirteen.  The 
presiding  elder  examined  me  on  the  questions  asked 
in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  and  as  was  the  custom,  I 
retired  from  the  room  in  order  that  the  members 
might  freely  express  their  views  as  to  the  fitness 
of  the  candidate. 

I  gladly  retired  and  then  spent  nearly  two  hours 
marching  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  church  to 
keep  warm,  as  it  was  very  cold.  At  times  I  was 
tempted  to  retire  for  good  and  go  home  and  give 
my  chance  to  some  one  else,  as  it  began  to  appear 
that  my  chance  was  no  good  anyhow.  At  last 
the  door  opened  and  a  beckoning  hand  invited  me 
in,  and  I  went  in  to  warm  and  to  tremble. 

The  presiding  elder  informed  me  that  they  had 
kept  me  out  in  the  cold  rather  long,  which  I  knew, 
and  that  when  they  did  come  to  a  vote  there  was  a 
tie  and  the  quarterly  conference  had  instructed  him 
to  give  the  deciding  vote,  which  he  would  do  after 
asking  a  few  more  questions.  The  questions  being 
answered  to  his  satisfaction  he  voted  in  my  favor. 


36        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

The  elder  then  gave  me  three  items  of  advice  for 
my  guidance  and  help.  "First,  whenever  you  have 
an  appointment  to  preach,  before  you  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  audience  have  your  theme  well  in 
your  mind.  If  you  go  before  an  audience  without 
a  theme  vou  will  be  at  sea,  and  will  be  able  to  ac- 
complish but  little. 

''Second,  be  sure  to  think  out  some  points  (not 
all)  on  the  theme,  and  be  thoroughly  familiar  with 
them.  You  must  know  and  understand  that  whidi 
you  would  have  your  audience  know  and  under- 
stand. 

'Third,  be  sure  to  quit  when  you  are  done,  and 
not  talk  your  points  out  of  mind  by  promising  to 
say  one  word  more,  and  then  talk  on  for  thirty  min- 
utes." 

Some  years  later,  I  learned  something  of  the  at- 
titude of  the  members  of  the  quarterly  conference, 
during  the  two  hours  I  was  out  in  the  cold.  After 
considering  and  debating  my  case  a  long  time,  the 
presiding  elder  put  to  vote  the  matter  of  recom- 
mending me  for  license,  and  the  vote  stood  three 
in  my  favor,  three  against  me,  and  seven  not  vot- 
ing at  all.  The  presiding  elder's  vote  in  my  favor 
elected  me,  and  it  was  apparent  that  it  was  by  a  very 
narrow  margin  that  I  entered  the  ministry.  Those 
who  were  opposed  to  recommending  me  argued,  as  I 
was  told,  that  I  had  but  recently  come  from  the  East, 
where  I  had  been  reared  as  a  Presbyterian;  that  I 
had  been  a  school  teacher  and  had  worked  up  a 
grammar  class  in  school ;  that  I  had  also  taught  the 


RE\'.  J.  G.  BALDWIN— 1860 


Licensed  to  Preach.  37 

reading  of  notes  to  music ;  consequently  most  of  the 
members  of  the  quarterly  conference  feared  that  m\- 
preaching  would  be  from  my  head  and  not  from  my 
heart.  It  was  to  my  mind  a  clear  case  of  knowing 
too  much,  which  was  quite  an  uncommon  situa- 
tion. 

My  license  was  granted  and  the  papers  signed  by 
Presiding  Elder  Stewart,  who  kindly  bade  me  God- 
speed, declaring  that  he  had  no  doubt  of  my  success. 

I  was  permitted  afterwards  to  be  the  pastor,  the 
presiding  elder,  and  the  General  Conference  dele- 
gate of  the  members  of  that  quarterly  conference, 
and  enjoyed  sweet  fellowship  with  them  for  years, 
but  they  have  every  one  received  the  summons,  and 
are  now  where  toils  and  cares  are  ended,  where  I 
hope  to  see  them,  every  one,  by-and-by. 

In  preaching  my  first  sermon  I  took  for  mv  text 
the  first  Psalm.  I  chose  to  take  the  whole  Psalm, 
for  I  feared  running  out  of  matter  if  my  text  were  a 
short  one.  The  appointment  was  at  my  home  church 
on  a  fine  spring  day.  and  some  one  had  started  the 
report  that  the  presiding  elder  was  to  be  there  to 
preach.  That  brought  a  house  full,  and  then  it  was 
circulated  that  the  report  of  the  presiding  elder's 
coming  was  one  of  my  jokes.  Afterwards,  however, 
the  person  who  was  responsible  for  starting  the 
story  volunteered  to  publicly  own  that  he  had  started 
the  joke. 

My  sermon  ended  in  time,  but  I  soon  learned 
that  too  many  points  in  one  sermon  are  not  easy  to 
mana2:e, 


38        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

As  a  local  preacher  I  was  not  a  success,  it  seemed 
to  me.  Preaching  just  enough  to  get  my  official 
character  squeezed  through  the  quarterly  conference 
did  not  agree  with  my  disposition,  or  with  my 
call  or  conscience.  I  felt  that  preaching  must  be 
the  work  of  my  life.  I  took  my  good  wife  into 
counsel.  After  a  thorough  and  prayerful  consider- 
ation of  all  the  circumstances  we  concluded  that  I 
should  continue  the  work  upon  the  farm  as  usual, 
but  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  take  a  charge  when- 
ever the  Lord  should  set  before  me  an  open  door. 
Then  peace  of  mind  came,  and  it  was  not  long  that 
we  were  left  in  suspense.  Occasionally  an  appoint- 
ment for  a  Sabbath  would  be  filled  at  the  churches 
at  various  places,  but  no  responsibility  seemed  to 
be  attached  to  the  work. 

There  was  an  exhorter  in  our  vicinity  who  pro- 
posed that  he  and  I  make  appointments  on  a  certain 
Sabbath  day,  I  to  preach  and  he  to  exhort,  thus 
assisting  each  other.  The  plan  was  to  have  three 
services,  the  first  at  the  jMethodist  church  at  Canaan 
Center  in  the  forenoon ;  the  second  at  the  Stratton 
schoolhouse  in  the  afternoon ;  and  the  work  of  the 
day  to  close  with  a  third  service  at  St.  Paul's 
Lutheran  church,  which  was  occupied  at  the  time 
by  the  United  Brethren  people. 

The  eventful  morning  came  with  the  singing  of 
birds,  and  in  the  joyous  springtime  we  began  our 
journey  on  foot  in  primitive  style,  filled  with  the 
hope  of  making  the  world  a  little  better  by  that 
day's  work.    The  morning  services  were  said  to  be 


Licensed  to  Preach.  39 

excellent,  and  we  were  cordially  invited  to  come 
again.  We  were  given  our  dinner  and  in  due  time 
were  on  our  way  to  the  afternoon  service  some  two 
miles  distant,  much  elated  over  the  morning's  work. 
A  great  crowd  assembled  at  the  schoolhouse,  which 
was  another  evidence  of  our  growing  popularity,  as 
we  opined,  and  after  the  sermon  and  exhortation 
there  was  much  handshaking  with  many  compli- 
ments and  congratulations. 

Soon  we  were  on  our  winding  way  to  the  even- 
ing appointment,  feeling  that  we  were  prepared  for 
any  emergency,  but  little  knowing  what  was  in  store 
for  us.  The  house  was  crowded,  with  half  the 
township  present,  including  many  of  my  previous 
pupils,  and  besides,  right  in  the  center  of  the  au- 
dience, immediately  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  was  a 
local  preacher,  a  member  of  the  annual  conference. 
He  asked  to  be  excused  from  taking  a  seat  on  the 
platform.  To  my  mind  all  at  once  he  began  to  ap- 
pear as  a  veritable  Goliath,  ready  to  slay  green  be- 
ginners. 

My  boldness  and  self-confidence  and  every  other 
kind  of  confidence  evaporated  at  once,  and  when 
my  text  for  the  evening  had  been  read  three  times 
I  was  unable  to  utter  a  sentence.  I  was  down  and 
out.  As  I  sat  down  I  told  the  exhorter  to  go  ahead, 
which  he  attempted  to  do,  but  it  was  no  go  with  him, 
and  the  best  I  could  do  was  to  turn  the  services 
over  to  the  big  local  preacher  in  front  of  the  pulpit. 
He,  coming  into  possession  of  the  floor,  at  once 
called  me  by  name,  and  advised  me  to  dismiss  the 


40        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

meeting,  as  there  was  "too  much  devil  there  that 
night  for  any  one  to  do  anything." 

I  was  reheved  that  some  one  knew  what  was 
the  matter,  and  very  gladly  hastened  to  carry  out  the 
suggestion,  and  wath  equal  gladness  hastened  from 
the  place. 

I  had  received  my  lesson,  and  it  was  so  impressed 
upon  me  that  it  could  never  be  forgotten.  I  am 
glad  to  record  that  for  the  sixty-four  years  since 
I  have  never  been  placed  in  a  like  pitiable  plight. 

It  was  a  chagrined  and  humiliated  pair  who 
walked  the  four  miles  of  our  way  homeward  that 
night  after  the  severe  lesson,  sadly  commenting  upon 
our  elation  of  the  morning,  and  of  our  overthrow 
in  the  evening.  I  remember  very  distinctly  a  re- 
mark I  made  to  my  comrade  as  we  wearily  jogged 
along  that  IMay  evening.  ''John,  I  am  pretty  sure 
that  my  call  to  preach  has  come  to  an  end,  and  I 
expect  from  present  appearances  I  shall  never  un- 
dertake a  job  of  that  kind  as  long  as  grass  grows 
or  water  runs."  In  reply  he  said,  "You  will  get 
over  that,"  and  we  walked  on  in  silence. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
A  Traveling  Preacher. 

I  found  that  it  was  not  possible  with  a  clear  con- 
science to  get  away  from  the  vow  which  I  had  made 
in  my  wife's  presence,  and  with  her  advice  and  ap- 
proval. That  vow  seemed  ever  to  be  before  me, 
but  how  it  was  to  be  fulfilled  I  did  not  know. 

Quite  early  in  the  morning  of  June  17,  1854, 
Presiding  Elder  Slutz  rode  up  to  my  house  as  I  was 
feeding  the  pigs,  and  saluted  me  with  a  good  morn- 
ing. He  declined  my  invitation  to  alight  from  his 
horse  and  come  in,  as  he  was  on  his  way  to 
hold  a  quarterly  meeting  at  Brunswick  mis- 
sion. Instead  he  asked  me  to  change  my  apparel, 
saddle  a  horse,  and  go  along  with  him  to  spend  the 
Sabbath.  I  made  the  excuse  that  there  was  so 
much  to  do  on  the  farm  at  that  time  of  the  year, 
and  that  I  did  not  see  how  I  could  spare  the  time. 
My  wife  overhearing  the  conversation  came  for- 
ward and  said,  "You  had  better  go.  I  can  do  the 
chores  just  as  well  as  not,  and  it  will  do  you  good." 
I  soon  was  ready  and  in  due  time  we  reached  the 
place. 

After  dinner  we  went  to  the  schoolhouse  where 
the  presiding  elder  preached  a  short  discourse,  and 
then  called  the  quarterly  conference  to  order.  It 
was  revealed  that  there  had  been  no  preaching  on 
the  charge  for  three  months,  and  the  preacher  was 


42        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

ill  and  likely  would  never  be  able  to  preach  again. 
The  presiding  elder  inquired  of  the  quarterly  con- 
ference if  the  members  desired  a  preacher  to  fill  out 
the  year.  They  answered  that  they  so  desired. 
"Whom  do  you  want?"  was  the  next  question,  and 
to  this  they  answered  that  the  selection  would  be 
left  to  the  elder.  Without  a  word  of  counsel  with 
me  he  said  to  the  conference,  "Seeing  you  have  em- 
powered me  to  select  a  man  for  the  place,  I  hereby 
appoint  Brother  Baldwin,  who  is  present,  to  supply 
the  charge  for  the  remainder  of  the  year,  and  he 
will  preach  for  you  this  evening." 

The  announcement  was  like  a  cloudburst  to  me. 
For  a  few  moments  I  was  so  overwhelmed  that  I 
could  not  utter  a  word.  Conference  presently  ad- 
journed and  I  made  for  the  woods  about  half  a 
mile  west  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  there  the  matter 
was  settled  for  all  time.  A  vow  was  made  that 
to  do  my  Lord's  bidding  and  follow  his  leading 
should  be  my  fixed  purpose  as  long  as  life  and 
health    were   vouchsafed. 

The  way  in  which  I  was  enabled  to  keep  this 
vow  was  marvelous.  The  financial  end  of  the  sit- 
uation adjusted  itself  readily,  the  work  on  the 
farm  was  easily  done,  and  nothing  blocked  my  way 
to  hinder  my  filling  the  six  appointments  of  the 
charge  for  the  remaining  three  months  of  the  year 
at  a  salary  of  S48.10.  In  addition  there  was  v$15 
missionary  funds  appropriated  by  the  annual  con- 
ference. The  next  session  of  the  conference  re- 
turned me  to  the  charge  for  another  year. 


A  Traveling  Preacher.  43 

The  annual  conference  that  year  was  held  at  Al- 
liance, in  Stark  County,  Ohio.  Bishop  J.  J.  Gloss- 
brenner  presided.  I  was  one  of  the  twelve  licen- 
tiates, all  of  whom  were  received  into  the  conference 
and  granted  license  to  preach  the  gospel.  Of  the 
twelve,  ten  have  gone  to  their  rest  and  reward,  and 
as  this  is  written,  two,  Rev.  L.  L.  Hager,  of  Erie 
Conference,  and  I.  are  left  to  expectantly  watch 
and  hope.  The  preacher  who  was  ill  when  the 
charge  fell  into  my  hands,  was  Rev.  A.  Crum,  who 
died  in  triumph  soon  after  my  taking  the  work. 

We  moved  to  the  charge  immediately  after  the 
conference  session,  and  went  to  work  preaching, 
visiting,  and  in  all  ways  possible  stirring  the  peo- 
ple to  activity  in  preparation  for  a  revival.  I  found 
there  were  all  sorts  and  sizes  of  isms,  and  soon 
learned  that  it  was  much  more  difficult  to  get  people 
to  go  and  keep  going  in  the  right  direction  than  I 
had  expected.  Many  did  not  know  the  truth  when 
they  saw  it,  it  seemed  to  me,  but  the  year  was  one 
of  valuable  training  for  the  work  of  preaching.  I 
found  that  there  was  a  saying  among  the  older 
preachers  of  the  conference  that  the  mission  was  an 
excellent  charge  on  which  to  test  a  young  hand,  to 
see  whether  he  had  the  stuff  in  him  to  endure  the 
work,  and  if  he  seemed  determined  upon  victory  he 
was  fit  to  w^ork  anywhere. 

We  had  some  revival  interest  and  made  many 
life-long  friends,  some  of  whom  are  in  the  paradise 
of  God  to-day. 


44        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

On  that  charge  I  received  my  parents  into  the 
fellowship  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  as  re- 
corded in  a  previous  chapter.  I  incidentally  learned 
a  good  bit  about  living,  a  good  bit  about  keeping 
a  family  while  in  the  ministry  at  that  time,  of  the 
work  that  had  to  be  done  in  the  hay  and  wheat  fields, 
in  the  hoeing  and  husking  of  corn,  digging  of  po- 
tatoes, etc.  That  year  I  earned  something  building 
a  barn  for  one  of  our  valued  members. 

The  next  year  was  spent  on  Nelson  Mission  with 
six  appointments.  At  once  we  moved  to  the  charge 
and  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  itinerancy  in  real 
earnest,  preaching,  visiting,  comforting  the  sick  and 
sorrowing,  besides  doing  manual  labor  at  times  to 
pay  expenses.  There  was  but  one  church  house  on 
the  charge,  our  meetings  at  other  points  being  held 
in  schoolhouses,  and  occasionally  in  private  houses. 
in  barns,  or  in  the  woods.  A  good  deal  of  interest 
was  awakened  during  the  year,  and  at  one  point  a 
good  revival  was  had,  a  new  society  organized,  and 
a  church  house  built. 

At  the  next  annual  conference  Nelson  Mission 
was  attached  to  Fowler  Circuit,  constituting  a 
charge  of  sixteen  appointments,  and  I  with  a  col- 
league was  sent  to  the  work.  The  helper  never 
came. 

We  moved  at  once  to  Fowler,  near  the  center  of 
the  charge,  in  order  to  travel  the  territory  to  the 
best  advantage.  I  undertook  to  fill  the  appoint- 
ments every  two  weeks  until  my  colleague  should 
arrive,  but  he  finally  sent  word  that  it  was  too  much 


A  Traveling  Preacher.  45 

work  to  do  in  four  weeks,  and  so  resigned.  The 
quarterly  conference  then  arranged  that  the  work 
should  be  entirely  in  my  charge,  three  local  preach- 
ers to  assist  as  I  should  direct,  and  that  when  I 
should  be  engaged  in  holding  revival  meetings  they 
should  fill  the  other  appointments.  This  worked 
right  well  and  was  continued  for  two  years.  Nearly 
four  hundred  were  converted  in  the  three  years  that 
I  spent  in  that  territory  and  three  houses  of  wor- 
ship were  built. 

Those  were  years  when  I  learned  a  good  deal 
about  the  managing  of  family  finances,  and  also 
those  of  the  church.  The  day  we  moved  to  Fowler 
I  wrote  a  letter  to  my  wife's  folks,  and  then  found 
that  there  was  no  money  in  the  house  nor  a  five- 
cent  postage  stamp.  Whom  to  ask  for  money  I 
did  not  know,  for  it  was  rumored  in  that  locality 
that  the  only  thing  we  were  after  was  their  money. 
So  the  letter  was  stowed  away  in  my  pocket  and 
developments  awaited.  The  following  Sabbath  my 
preaching  appointment  was  in  a  schoolhouse  over 
the  line  in  Pennsylvania.  A  good  audience  greeted 
me,  and  after  the  services  some  time  was  spent  in 
greetings  and  visiting,  that  I  might  learn  the  names 
and  faces  of  some  of  the  people.  Among  those 
whom  I  met  was  a  middle-aged  woman,  who  diffi- 
dently approached  me  and  after  the  handshake 
modestly  inquired,  "Do  you  need  any  money?" 
That  was  a  question  that  had  not  been  put  in  the 
program  for  the  day,  and  it  nearly  took  away  my 
breath,  but  I  managed  to  say  that  I  could  use  a 


46        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

trifle  more  than  I  then  possessed.  She  said,  "I  have 
not  much  means,  but  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  do  what  I 
can."  She  handed  me  fifty  cents.  I  never  saw  a 
fifty-cent  piece  before  or  since  that  looked  as  large 
as  that  one  did.  People  who  become  rich  suddenly 
through  some  unexpected  legacy,  I  opine,  feel  a 
little  as  I  did.  I  went  to  my  evening  preaching  some 
five  miles  distant  with  revived  hopes,  and  somehow 
I  came  to  believe  that  God  would  not  permit  me  to 
suffer. 

The  following  Friday,  just  as  I  was  about  to  start 
to  fill  my  appointments  at  the  end  of  the  charge 
where  I  had  been  pastor  the  previous  year,  my  wife 
came  to  the  buggy  and  said :  "J^^^^s,  we  have  no 
flour  in  the  house,  not  a  bit.  We  have  half  a  loaf 
of  bread  and  a  little  cornmeal,  which  will  do  for 
me  and  Charlie  until  you  return  on  Monday,  and 
as  you  are  going  where  you  are  well  acquainted, 
perhaps  you  can  get  flour  from  some  of  our  friends 
to  bring  home  with  you."  I  agreed  to  try,  and 
started. 

My  text  on  which  I  intended  to  preach  that  even- 
ing at  Braceville  was,  "Therefore,  being  justified  by 
faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,"  etc.  Thinking  and 
praying  as  much  as  I  did,  as  I  journeyed  on,  the 
flour  would  slip  into  my  thoughts  and  cause  confu- 
sion in  the  sermon  making.  Thus  the  conflict  raged 
until  I  came  in  sight  of  my  stopping  place  and  then 
I  said :  ''Lord,  help  me  to  trust  the  flour  to  thee.  I 
am  not  able  for  it,  and  to  preach  beside."  As  a 
cloud  disappears  before  the  wind,  so  the  problem 


A  Traveling  Preacher.  47 

of  the  flour  went  from  my  thought  and  rest  and 
trust  came  and  not  a  thought  of  it  returned  to  annoy 
me  during  my  preaching. 

When  the  meeting  was  dismissed  and  greetings 
were  the  order,  a  Mr.  Smith  came  to  shake  hands 
and  to  inquire  about  my  family,  and  how  we  were 
getting  along.  Before  parting  he  asked  if  I  could 
come  by  his  house  on  my  way  home  on  Monday.  I 
replied  that  I  could  if  necessary,  although  it  was  a 
mile  or  more  out  of  the  way.  He  said,  "I  have  been 
hauling  flour  to  Warren  and  thought  that  you  could 
put  a  sack  in  your  buggy  to  take  home  to  the  family, 
if  you  could  come  this  way  as  well  as  not."  "Oh," 
I  said,  "to  be  sure,  I  shall  be  glad  to  come  this  way 
and  take  dinner  with  you,  and  accommodate  you 
by  hauling  away  some  of  your  flour."  I  was  there 
at  the  appointed  time  and  had  a  splendid  dinner  and 
formed  a  pleasant  acquaintance  with  the  family,  who 
once  had  been  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
Church,  but  two  of  the  sons  had  been  converted  at 
the  meeting  which  was  held  by  me  the  year  before, 
and  all  came  into  fellowship  with  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church  soon  afterwards. 

As  I  was  leaving  for  home  the  host  said,  "Now, 
about  that  flour  of  which  I  was  speaking  to  you 
last  Friday  evening,  can  you  take  it  with  you?" 
Replying  in  the  affirmative,  he  said,  "I  think  you 
are  entitled  to  two  sacks  if  you  can  carry  them." 
I  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  possible, 
as  the  horse  was  willing  and  the  buggy  was  strong. 
Forthwith  two  sacks  of  flour  were  placed  beneath 


48        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldivin. 

the  buggy  seat,  and  I  went  on  singing  and  rejoicing. 
From  that  time  to  this,  I  believe  that  the  Lord  knows 
how  and  when  to  provide  flour  for  us,  with  all 
things  else  needed.  So  I  bless  and  praise  his  name. 
One  time  on  this  charge  on  opening  the  door  of 
the  schoolhouse  after  the  services  I  saw  a  large  man 
in  his  shirt  sleeves  walking  to  and  fro  in  front  of 
the  house  swearing  at  me  for  coming  to  the  vicinity 
and  publicly  holding  him  up  before  the  congregation, 
telling  them  how  he  got  drunk,  abused  his  wife,  and 
was  guilty  of  other  bad  things.  In  his  ravings  he 
said  it  was  not  fair  for  me  to  take  advantage  of 
him  in  that  way,  and  that  he  would  give  me  a 
sound  thrashing  if  I  would  just  step  out  into  the 
road.  I  told  him  that  he  was  mistaken,  for  I  had 
never  seen  him  or  heard  of  him  before  in  my  life, 
and  I  assured  him  I  did  not  want  to  be  thrashed  and 
would  not  come  out,  advising  him  to  go  home,  and 
that  when  he  came  to  soberly  think  it  all  over  he 
would  see  his  mistake.  Then  his  wife  and  a  few 
friends  gathered  about  him  and  persuaded  him  to 
put  on  his  coat  and  go  home.  The  brethren  as- 
sured me  that  he  would  feel  very  mean  over  it  when 
he  became  sober.  And  so  it  was,  for  as  soon  as 
the  booze  that  possessed  him  had  spent  its  power 
he  was  profuse  with  his  apologies.  I  had  the  joy  of 
seeing  him  soundly  converted  afterward,  and  of  re- 
ceiving him  into  the  United  Brethren  Church  where 
he  walked  as  a  man  victorious  over  drink  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 


A  Traveling  Preacher.  49 

When  it  came  time  to  present  the  missionary  cause 
I  found  to  my  sad  surprise  that  very  many  were 
opposed  to  missions.  They  told  me  that  it  was  not 
right  to  send  money  to  other  localities  when  it  was 
so  badly  needed  at  home.  One  man  declared  that 
he  would  not  pay  me  anything  if  I  should  preach 
missions.  Well,  I  saw  that  light  was  needed  there, 
and  at  once  I  made  up  my  mind  to  preach  on  the 
subject  of  missions  at  all  appointments  on  the 
charge. 

The  next  Sabbath  I  began  the  work  at  a  place 
called  "Brimstone  Corners,"  since  named  Wildare, 
supposed  to  be  a  more  respectable  name.  In  my 
sermon  that  day  I  dwelt  at  length  upon  our  duty 
to  practice  economy  in  order  to  have  something 
to  give  to  spread  the  gospel  in  the  whole  world.  I 
urged  economy  in  dress,  and  in  the  avoidance  of 
unnecessary  luxuries.  I  illustrated  from  my  own 
experience,  as  I  had  bought  a  suit  of  clothes  a  few 
days  before.  One  suit  had  been  offered  to  me  at 
$15,  another  at  $12.  The  cheaper  suit  would  be 
as  serviceable  as  the  other,  the  difference  being 
that  the  $12  suit  would  not  shine  as  the  other,  just 
like  Brother  Johnnie  Simons'  vest,  and  thus  the  $3 
would  be  spent  for  the  shine  alone.  Brother  Simons 
was  greatly  stirred  up  at  my  remarks.  He  was  a 
sincere  German  who  dressed  neatly  in  a  plain  brown 
suit,  but  by  some  means  had  a  fine  satin  vest,  which 
to  my  mind,  did  not  correspond  to  the  rest  of  his 
attire.  I  saw  that  he  was  greatly  excited,  as  were 
some  others,  and  knew  that  I  was  in  for  it.     Then 


50        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldivin. 

with  paper  and  pencil  I  went  through  the  audience 
asking  each  person  to  subscribe  and  give  to  mis- 
sions as  he  was  able.  When  I  came  to  Johnnie  he 
astonished  me  by  pulling  off  the  vest  and  handing 
it  to  me  saying,  "Take  that."  I  felt  that  the  best 
thing  to  do  was  to  take  it,  and  then  I  offered  it 
for  sale  for  the  cause.  Brother  William  Clemmens 
helped  me  out  by  offering  $2  for  the  vest,  and  it  was 
passed  over  to  him  and  the  cash  given  to  me.  After 
the  service  Brother  Clemmens  took  the  vest  to 
Johnnie  and  explained  that  the  preacher  had  merely 
used  the  vest  as  an  illustration,  not  meaning  any 
harm,  and  that  he  should  take  his  vest  back  and  it 
would  be  all  right  with  the  preacher.  He  cooled 
down  and  took  the  vest.  The  cause  of  missions  got 
the  two  dollars,  and  the  community  got  lots  of 
fun  and  good  cheer  out  of  the  incident.  To  this 
day  some  of  the  older  people  talk  and  laugh  about 
the  incident.  The  best  of  all  was  that  never  again 
was  there  offered  any  opposition  to  my  preaching 
missionary  sermons,  and  Brother  Simons  was  a 
faithful  friend.  I  was  in  that  vicinity  a  few  years 
after  and  made  inquiry  in  regard  to  Brother  Simons, 
and  learned  that  he  had  removed  to  a  place  in  the 
southeast  of  the  county,  where  there  was  no  United 
Brethren  church,  and  where  he  worshiped  in  an- 
other church  a  mile  or  two  from  his  home,  and  this 
story  was  told  me : 

One  morning  in  the  autumn  he  was  late  in  get- 
ting ready  to  go  to  church,  and  while  hurrying 
about    his    chores    he   had    occasion   to   go   to   the 


A  Traveling  Preacher.  51 

cellar.  Becky,  his  wife,  handed  him  a  vessel,  asking 
him  to  draw  some  sorghum  molasses  for  breakfast. 
As  the  molasses  ran  very  slowly,  he  left  the  vessel 
under  the  open  spigot  and  attended  to  other  duties, 
intending  to  get  the  molasses  when  the  vessel  should 
be  filled.  In  the  meantime  Becky  had  made  some 
changes  in  preparing  the  meal  so  that  the  sorghum 
was  not  needed.  As  soon  as  the  hasty  breakfast 
was  eaten  they  drove  Gilpin-like  to  church,  arriv- 
ing after  the  services  were  well  begun.  They  were 
seated  but  a  few  minutes  when  suddenly,  without 
a  word  of  warning  or  explanation,  Johnnie  jumped 
to  his  feet,  exclaiming,  "Oh,  mine  Got,  Becky,  the 
molasses!  the  molasses!"  The  two  rushed  to  the 
door  while  several  men  followed,  thinking  he  had 
suddenly  gone  mad,  but  Johnnie  was  specially  in- 
tent on  getting  into  the  conveyance  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and  with  Becky  he  started  pell-mell  for  home. 
The  interested  onlookers  saw  that  he  evidently  had 
no  time  or  disposition  for  explanations.  Reaching 
the  cellar  the  faucet  was  turned  to  stop  the  flow  of 
sorghum,  but  a  goodly  quantity  of  the  contents  of 
the  barrel  had  obeyed  the  law  of  gravitation,  and 
was  wasting  its  sweetness  on  the  cellar  floor,  John- 
nie took  a  philosophical  view  of  the  situation,  say- 
ing, ''Well,  I  raised  the  sorghum  myself  and  made 
the  molasses,  and  I  have  not  lost  much  but  my  labor, 
but  I  did  not  intend  it  to  be  used  for  this  purpose." 
The  incident  was  a  source  of  merriment  over  all 
that  part  of  the  county. 


CHAPTER  VIL 
An  Itinerant  in  War  Times. 

The  autumn  of  1859  found  us  on  the  Erie  charge 
with  six  appointments.  Those  were  stirring  times 
just  preceding  the  Civil  War,  and  all  was  commo- 
tion in  Church  and  State,  and  the  possibility  of 
building  up  the  Church  seemed  small.  Especially 
was  this  true  in  the  United  Brethren  Church,  for 
we  were  known  to  be  "black  abolitionists,"  and  all 
sorts  of  charges  were  made  against  us  as  being 
dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  society. 

Besides  my  work  of  preaching  and  visiting,  the 
provost  marshal  of  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  appointed 
me  to  enroll  all  who  were  fit  for  military  service 
in  the  township  where  I  lived,  Elkcreek  Township. 
I  went  to  work  at  once  and  my  report  was  the  first 
one  in,  and  the  marshal  told  me  afterwards  that  it 
was  the  cleanest  and  most  complete  of  any  in  the 
county.  As  I  went  about  my  work,  I  found  large 
posters  on  the  trees  and  fences  addressed  to  Uncle 
Sam  with  the  challenge  "Draft  if  you  dare."  But 
Uncle  sent  fourteen  hundred  persons  dressed  in  blue 
suits,  and  the  draft  went  on  without  any  trouble, 
excepting  hot  words  and  dire  threats. 

It  fell  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  first  to  be  drafted, 
and  on  the  very  day  I  received  the  notice,  I  reported 
to  the  provost  marshal.  He  promptly  told  me  that 
he  would  not  allow  me  to  go  to  war,  as  I  was  too 


An  Itinerant  in  War  Times.  53 

tall ;  the  enemy  would  shoot  my  head  off  the  first 
day.  He  also  informed  me  that  there  was  other 
work  for  me  concerning  which  he  would  inform  me 
later.  I  went  home  and  in  a  few  days  a  letter 
came  asking  me  to  come  to  Erie,  but  to  do  so  with- 
out giving  any  one  the  least  hint  as  to  my  having 
any  business  with  the  marshal. 

Of  course  I  went,  my  curiosity  being  aroused 
as  to  the  reason  for  secretiveness.  Once  in  the 
presence  of  the  marshal  he  explained  that  there 
was  a  goodly  number  who  were  drafted  and  had 
hired  substitutes,  and  that  when  the  money  was 
paid  over  to  the  substitutes  they  went  to  Canada. 
Some  received  a  bounty  and  also  went  to  Canada. 
Others  were  unpatriotic  cowards,  and  were  ready 
to  desert  their  country.  This,  with  similar  infor- 
mation was  given  me,  and  then  he  explained  the 
work  he  desired  of  me.  As  I  was  engaged  in  travel- 
ing throughout  Erie  County,  I  was  to  be  on  the  look- 
out for  any  of  the  characters  described,  and  to  re- 
port to  him.  In  the  meantime  nothing  was  to  be 
said  or  done  that  would  lead  any  one  to  suspect 
that  I  was  engaged  in  that  kind  of  work. 

So  I  was  instructed  and  so  I  went  to  work,  no 
one  but  my  wife  knowing  of  it.  I  served  in  this 
position  while  in  that  county  about  three  years,  and 
succeeded  in  reporting  perhaps  a  dozen  men  who 
were  guilty  of  bounty  jumping,  deserting,  or  cheat- 
ing the  Government  in  one  way  or  another.  Some 
of  them  paid  dearly  for  their  mean  business.  One 
rich  old  fellow  was  fined  ten  thousand  dollars  for 


54        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

the  part  he  took  in  the  unpatriotic  procedure.  But 
I  had  to  be  very  careful  not  to  let  any  one  know 
of  my  business  as  I  traveled  to  and  fro  in  the 
county. 

It  was  suggested  to  me  that  it  would  be  proper 
for  me  to  carry  a  revolver,  a  custom  quite  common. 
I  had  a  revolver  in  my  hip  pocket  a  half  day,  and 
was  in  constant  fear  that  it  would  go  ofif  at  the 
wrong  time,  and  I  laid  it  aside.  I  preached  one  even- 
ing in  a  schoolhouse  in  a  community  generally  cred- 
ited with  being  a  southern  sympathizing  community. 
I  was  there  in  hunt  of  a  man  who  was  supposed  to  be 
in  Canada,  but  who  was  in  the  congregation  before 
me,  as  I  learned  before  leaving.  It  was  whispered 
to  me  that  he  was  there  with  eight  or  ten  men  with 
revolvers  to  guard  him,  as  his  family  lived  in  the 
district  and  he  was  home  on  a  furlough.  The 
Government  had  him  well  in  hand  within  the  next 
twenty-four  hours.  I  felt  relieved  when  I  was  done 
with  the  whole  business. 

While  I  was  on  this  charge  my  wife  had  the  ty- 
phoid fever  in  the  most  malignant  form.  She  hovered 
between  life  and  death  for  fifteen  long,  tedious 
weeks,  four  of  which  were  a  blank  to  her  ever 
after.  But  God  heard  and  answered  our  prayers, 
and  she  was  mercifully  restored  to  us  and  spared 
for  fifty-four  years,  even  to  a  good  old  age,  as  we 
count  duration.  I  cease  not  to  praise  the  Lord  for 
his  gracious  providence  in  sparing  her  to  such  a 
good  age  to  be  a  blessed  example  of  patience,  hope, 
and   charity,   and  to   come  to  the  end  of  her  life 


An  Itinerant  in  War  Times.  55 

among  her  kindred  and  loved  ones  peacefully  and  in 
glorious  triumph. 

I  was  next  sent  to  Fowler  Circuit,  the  charge 
having  been  divided,  there  being  about  half  the 
number  of  preaching  places  as  when  I  traveled  it 
previously.  The  quarterly  conference  in  fixing  my 
salary  agreed  to  pay  one  dollar  a  sermon,  no  ac- 
count to  be  taken  of  donations  or  presents.  I  man- 
aged to  preach  as  many  sermons  as  seemed  really 
necessary  and  no  more.  At  the  end  of  the  year  it 
was  found  that  two  hundred  and  twelve  sermons 
had  been  delivered,  and  two  hundred  and  thirteen 
dollars  had  been  received,  I  therefore,  being  over- 
paid, but  the  quarterly  conference  generously  al- 
lowed me  to  keep  the  additional  dollar. 

.At  one  of  the  appointments  there  was  an  old 
b-rotber  who,  in  the  class  meetings,  was  always 
saying  things  in  a  way  no  one  else  could  say  tliem. 
Twice  he  was  absent  from  the  meetings,  an  unusual 
thing.  At  the  third  service  he  was  there,  and  after 
preaching  he  arose  in  the  class  meeting  and  stated 
the  reason  for  his  absence.  He  had  been  in  spiritual 
darkness  and  despondency  for  four  weeks,  but  as 
he  was  at  work  plowing  in  the  field  a  passage  of 
Scripture  came  to  him  that  gave  him  great  comfort, 
and  his  darkness  disappeared.  The  passage  was 
this,  'Taint  heart  never  won  fair  lady."  The  breth- 
ren thought  it  was  my  duty  to  inform  the  brother 
that  his  scripture  was  home-made  and  not  to  be 
found  in  the  Bible,  but  I  said,  "No,  he  had  gotten 
help  from  it,  let  it  go  at  that." 


56        AutobiGgraphy  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

In  the  same  neighborhood  was  a  family  not  be- 
longing to  our  church  but  regular  attendants.  I 
was  often  invited  to  stop  with  them.  One  Saturday, 
I  drove  to  the  house  and  was  invited  by  the  woman 
of  the  house  to  put  up  my  horse,  she  stating  that  the 
men  would  soon  be  in  for  supper,  and  the  horse  be 
fed  and  cared  for.  On  going  in  the  woman  said : 
"I  am  so  glad  you  came  to-night,  for  I  have  hunted 
in  the  Bible  all  this  week  for  a  passage  of  scrip- 
ture that  father  used  to  quote  often  to  us  girls  when 
we  would  get  to  cutting  up  and  whistling  and  danc- 
ing, but  I  can't  find  it  anywhere.  It  was,  'Whistling 
maids  and  crowing  hens  always  come  to  some  bad 
ends.'  "  I  told  her  that  I  had  heard  that  sentiment, 
but  was  quite  sure  it  was  not  in  the  Bible.  It  might 
be  poetry,  but  was  very  poor  poetry,  and  I  had  no 
idea  who  the  author  was.  She  was  incensed  at  my 
remark,  and  said  she  was  sure  it  was  in  the  Bible, 
for  her  father  was  great  on  the  Bible  and  would 
not  have  quoted  it  so  often  if  it  had  not  been  there. 
I  soon  saw  that  there  was  no  chance  to  change  he\ 
mind,  and  I  advised  her  to  continue  the  search  in 
the  Bible,  and  when  she  had  found  it  to  write 
and  give  me  the  chapter  and  verse,  and  I  would  be 
greatly  obliged.  I  have  not  heard  anything  more 
of  the  matter  though  some  fifty  years  have  come 
and  gone. 

The  war  spirit  was  abroad  in  all  the  land  at 
this  time,  and  was  very  much  in  evidence  on  a  por- 
tion of  Fowler  charge.     We  had  withal  a  good  re- 


All  Itinerant  in  War  Times.  57 

vival  spirit  at  two  places,  and  over  one  hundred 
were  converted  and  joined  the  church. 

At  one  place  our  church  was  burned,  being  totally 
destroyed  in  the  midst  of  a  sweeping  revival.  As 
the  church  was  near  the  schoolhouse  the  meeting 
continued  therein.  There  was  a  man  in  the  vicinity 
who  had  threatened  us,  and  so  the  trustees  arrested 
him,  but  there  was  not  sufficient  testimony  to  con- 
vict him.  Twice  he  was  arrested,  but  we  failed 
to  make  a  clear  case  and  so  gave  it  up  until  further 
proof  could  be  secured.  The  man  whom  we  sus- 
pected was  a  large  landholder,  and  was  considered 
w^ealthy.  After  while  it  came  out  that  he  had  had 
a  confederate  in  the  burning  of  the  church.  The 
two  had  quarreled  about  the  pay  and  the  confederate 
''let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag."  To  avoid  being  arrested 
again,  and  to  settle  the  matter  the  man  bargained 
with  the  trustees  to  give  them  five  acres  of  land 
and  to  build  as  good  a  church  as  the  one  which  had 
been  burned.  This  was  done,  and  several  years 
later  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  holding  a  quarterly 
meeting  in  the  new  church,  and  the  man  who  was  the 
principal  in  the  burning  of  the  former  church,  was 
one  of  my  auditors.  After  services  I  spoke  to  him 
about  the  matter  and  he  said  that  he  was  done  with 
such  business. 

There  was  a  remarkable  conversion  of  a  noted 
infidel  in  that  meeting.  The  man's  wife  was  a 
member  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  and  with 
her  children,  was  a  faithful  attendant.  She  was 
anxious  that  I  should  visit  her  husband  and  talk 


58        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

with  him  and  examine  his  infidel  library,  of  which 
he  was  very  proud,  boasting  of  his  weapons  to  be 
used  in  combating  the  silly  notions  of  Christians. 
The  next  day  I  visited  the  home,  arranging  to  take 
a  meal  there.  After  a  little  talk  with  the  man,  it 
was  apparent  to  me  that  his  whole  effort  had  been 
to  find  what  he  wanted  to  find,  and,  of  course,  he 
found  it.  I  declined  to  be  led  into  an  argument 
with  him,  but  examined  and  praised  his  fine  library, 
remarking  that  his  books  were  all  on  one  side  of 
the  question.  "Where  are  the  books  on  the  other 
side?"  I  asked.  "Are  you  willing  to  look  earnestly 
and  candidly  into  the  matter  from  our  side  of  the 
question,  and  will  you  read  a  small  book  that  I  will 
furnish  you?  Are  you  afraid  to  study  the  other 
side?"  He  replied,  "I  am  not  afraid  to  read  any- 
thing you  choose  to  send  me,  and  if  there  is  good 
sense  in  it,  Lthink  I  am  able  to  recognize  it."  I  said 
no  more  to  him  and  on  returning  to  my  home,  J 
selected  a  small  volume  entitled,  "Cause  and  Cure 
of  Infidelity,"  by  Dr.  Nelson.  The  book  was  in 
his  hands  when  his  wife  came  to  church  at  the  next 
service,  and  he  was  an  eager  student  from  the  mo- 
ment he  began  to  investigate. 

I  saw  no  more  of  him  until  the  next  Thursday 
evening.  After  dismissing  the  meeting  and  as  I 
was  passing  out  of  the  door  of  the  church,  liis 
hired  man  came  to  me  in  great  haste  and  said  that 
Alex  had  sent  him  to  tell  me  to  announce  in  public 
that  he  was  done  with  infidelity,  and  had  made  a 
bonfire  of  his  costly  books  and  asked  the  prayers 


An  Itinerant  in  War  Times.  59 

of  the  congregation.  It  was  an  opportune  time  to 
make  the  announcement  at  once;  as  the  weather 
was  mild  the  people  were  visiting  before  going 
to  their  homes.  As  soon  as  the  announcement  was 
made  there  was  such  an  awe  of  stillness  apparent 
as  I  had  never  beheld  in  an  audience  before,  and 
I  have  not  experienced  the  like  since.  The  people 
appeared  to  be  afraid  to  stir  but  they  quietly  re- 
tired, and  the  next  day  we  found  that  it  was  all 
true  as  reported,  and  Alex  came  out  fair  and  square 
upon  the  Lord's  side,  greatly  to  the  discomfiture  of 
Satan's  followers. 

I  had  all  sorts  of  experiences  during  the  meetings 
in  the  schoolhouse  after  the  church  had  been  burned. 
Some  were  bitterly  opposed  to  our  work,  :md 
sought  to  drive  us  away  by  all  means  they  dared  to 
employ.  The  preacher's  position  was  in  front  of 
the  blackboard.  One  night  as  I  knelt  in  prayer  there 
was  a  constant  noise  about  the  blackboard  in  my 
rear.  After  the  service  the  brethren  made  an  ex- 
amination to  find  out  what  ailed  the  blackboard,  and 
they  gathered  up  a  dozen  eight-penny  nails,  which 
had  been  thrown  at  me,  but  evidently  with  poor 
marksmanship,  as  not  one  hit  me.  This  was  re- 
peated the  next  night,  but  the  enemy's  skill  was 
no  better,  for  not  one  was  allowed  to  touch  me. 
1  spoke  of  the  incident  in  my  sermon,  and  stated 
that  all  who  were  in  the  audience  were  upon  the  one 
side  or  the  other.  Either  they  were  with  the  per- 
son who  threw  the  nails,  or  they  were  on  the  side  of 
the  right,   and  all  unrepented  sinners  would  have 


60        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

to  be  counted  with  the  one  who  threw  the  nails. 
When  mourners  were  invited  one  man  went  across 
the  aisle  and  taking  his  wife  by  the  hand  said,  "Let 
us  get  off  the  side  of  that  feller  that  threw  the  nails." 
They  went  together  to  the  altar  of  prayer,  and  were 
happily  converted. 

Some  of  our  people  advised  me  not  to  go  to  that 
appointment  to  preach,  as  the  hostility,  resulting 
from  the  war  spirit,  was  so  great  that  they  might 
kill  me,  accidentally  or  otherwise.  It  was  not  so 
much  that  they  were  against  me ;  the  church  was 
the  foe  which  they  hated,  because  its  members  were 
"black  abolitionists,"  and  many  did  not  know  enough 
to  know  what  that  meant. 

I  have  read  in  one  of  Wesley's  sermons  that  a 
preacher  is  immortal  until  his  work  is  done.  It  ap- 
peared as  if  the  statement  is  true,  for  the  man  who 
threw  the  nails  afterwards  confessed  that  he  did 
his  best  to  hit  me,  but  I  had  a  charmed  life.  So  I 
lived  through  the  year,  and  am  living  some  fifty 
years  later.  W^ar  is  a  great  calamity,  and  I  have 
often  prayed  that  there  might  never  be  another. 

Two  of  my  brothers  were  in  the  Civil  War,  and 
both  were  spared  to  return  to  their  families.  My 
youngest  brother,  John,  was  a  captain  in  the  13th 
Michigan  V.  I.,  and  was  in  thirty-three  regular 
battles.  He  was  wounded  but  once,  in  the  engage- 
ment at  Chattanooga,  when  he  was  hit  by  a  sharp- 
shooter after  the  battle  was  over.  He  was  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  and  captured  a  whole  regiment 
of  the  Mississippi  Confederates,  or  what  was  left 


All  Itinerant  in  War  Times.  61 

of  the  regiment,  there  being  a  few  over  six  hundred, 
and  took  them  to  Johnson's  Island  as  prisoners  of 
war.  When  the  papers  were  being  made  out  only 
eleven  of  the  number  could  write  their  names,  one 
of  whom  was  the  colonel,  and  he  was  found  to  be 
an  uncle  of  ours,  our  father's  brother  John,  the  next 
to  the  youngest  of  nine  sons.     But  it  was  war. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Traveling  Preacher^  Presiding  Elder, 
General  Conference  Delegate. 

In  1863,  I  was  elected  presiding  elder  and  sent  to 
the  Erie  District.  Six  times  afterwards  was  I 
elected  to  the  same  office,  serving  seven  years  in  all, 
and  when  not  in  the  presiding  eldership,  I  served 
various  charges.  I  must  say  that  the  office  of  presid- 
ing elder  was  not  to  my  liking.  There  seemed  to  be 
too  much  waste  of  labor;  too  much  variety,  even 
though  variety  is  the  spice  of  life.  The  honor  was 
considerable,  but  was  not  equal  to  the  honor  and 
pleasure  of  being  on  a  charge  where  one  could 
keep  account  of  his  sons  and  daughters  in  the  gos- 
pel. It  is  just  the  place  for  those  who  are  fitted  for 
it. 

At  the  first  quarterly  conference  which  I  was 
permitted  to  hold,  the  pastor  asked  me  where  he 
would  be  sent  next  year.  I  told  him  that  if  I  had 
my  way  he  would  be  sent  home  to  stay,  for  a  man 
who  is  planning  to  move  from  his  charge  before 
he  had  been  on  it  three  months  is  not  the  man  to 
secure  results.  He  did  not  vote  for  me  as  presid- 
ing elder  again. 

The  presiding  elder  has  to  deal  with  the  vexatious 
questions  of  all  sorts  in  helping  to  solve  the  prob- 
lems of  the  pastor  or  of  the  members,  questions 
of  salary  or  financial  matters,  which  keep  the  presid- 


Preacher,  Elder,  Delegate.  63 

ing  elder  constantly  between  the  upper  and  lower 
millstones,  until  he  is  ground  pretty  thin.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  I  was  pastor  I  was  always  grate- 
ful to  have  the  presiding  elder  put  in  his  appearance 
and  take  the  work  in  hand  for  a  few  days,  and  then 
pay  him  and  send  him  rejoicing  on  his  way. 

After  a  year's  service  I  failed  of  reelection  at  the 
session  of  the  conference  of  1864.  Canaan  Circuit 
had  had  some  serious  disturbances,  and  the  presid- 
ing elder  informed  me  that  there  was  a  request 
from  the  officials  of  the  charge  that  I  be  sent  there, 
as  I  was  well  acquainted  with  the  situation,  and 
would  know  how  to  manage  it  better  than  any  one 
else.  On  Canaan  Circuit  I  had  taught  school,  had 
received  license  to  preach,  and  had  married  my  wife, 
so  it  seemed  like  going  home,  and  we  were  glad  to 
get  upon  a  circuit  once  more,  even  if  there  were 
prospects  of  a  conflict  ahead. 

Brother  John  Noel  was  my  colleague.  He  was 
an  excellent  preacher,  but  his  health  was  not  ro- 
bust, and  he  needed  rest  after  preaching  a  sermon. 
So  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  hold  nearly  all  the  protracted 
meetings  during  the  winter.  He  would  undertake 
his  share  all  right,  then  his  strength  would  fail 
and  he  would  have  to  go  home  to  recuperate.  For 
fourteen  weeks  during  the  winter  I  preached  and 
sang  and  worked  in  revival  services  every  night 
in  succession  except  one.  In  the  spring  the  ague  set 
in  to  help  me  out,  and  at  the  time  of  the  session 
of  conference  I  was  nearly  finished,  both  physically 
and  financially.    I  asked  the  conference  to  grant  me 


64        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

a  ''location"  for  one  year  with  the  hope  that  a  year's 
rest  would  restore  me  to  my  normal  condition. 

Then  the  question  arose,  Where  shall  we  go,  and 
what  shall  I  do?  With  nervous  prostration,  weigh- 
ing 138  pounds,  unable  to  read  or  study,  I  felt 
that  I  could  never,  never  preach  another  sermon. 
My  salary  was  all  spent,  and  all  the  funds  I  had 
accumulated  before  preaching  were  gone  except 
$142.  With  this  we  had  to  begin  the  quest  for 
health  and  funds.  Well,  some  of  my  wife's  folks 
lived  in  Akron,  Ohio.  A  new  house  had  been  built 
on  what  is  now  Buchtel  Avenue,  and  I  was  offered 
the  upstairs  to  live  in  if  I  would  finish  it  off.  I  ac- 
cepted this  proposition  in  October,  1865.  We  were 
settling  in  our  new  quarters,  and  I  felt  that  it  would 
be  my  last  abode  on  earth.  But  something  must  be 
done  to  procure  bread  and  butter.  My  wife's 
brother  came  in  one  Saturday  morning  and  pro- 
posed to  go  with  me  to  the  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment of  Weary,  Snyder,  and  Wilcox  to  look  for 
a  job.  When  I  entered  the  plant  with  its  humming 
planers  and  buzzing  saws  and  turning  lathes,  I  said 
to  myself :  ''This  is  the  place  for  me.  The  odor  of 
pine  lumber  is  the  thing."  Presently  one  of  the 
proprietors,  D.  G.  Wilcox,  came  along  and  I  was 
introduced  to  him.  He  asked,  "What  can  you  do?" 
I  said  that  I  was  a  broken  down  preacher,  but  had 
the  trade  of  carpenter  and  joiner,  and  could  turn  a 
top  or  make  a  gunboat.  "What  wages  do  you 
want?"  he  asked.  My  reply  was,  "I  want  just  what 
I  can  earn,"     I  told  him  that  I  was  not  very  strong 


Preacher^  Elder,  Delegate.  65 

at  the  time,  but  expected  to  regain  my  health. 
*'Well,"  said  he,  "you  are  just  the  man  we  want. 
Come  next  Monday  morning,  and  we'll  try  you  two 
weeks,  and  see  what  you  can  do.  We  pay  every 
two  weeks." 

I  was  on  hand  Monday  morning  to  hear  the 
whistle  blow  and  learn  what  my  job  was  to  be. 
The  greetings  of  the  morning  were  passed,  and  I 
was  asked  if  I  could  fix  buzz  saws  so  that  they 
would  run  right.  I  replied  that  I  could  do  it  splen- 
didly. "Well,  we  wish  you  would,  for  there  is 
hardly  one  in  the  shop  that  does  its  work.  Go  at  it, 
and  take  your  time,  and  if  they  are  fixed  that  is 
what  we  want."  So  that  was  my  first  work  in  the 
establishment.  The  saws  were  gummed,  filed,  and 
made  to  run  true.  The  guides  on  the  tables  were 
twisted  and  had  to  be  put  through  the  Daniel's 
planer  to  get  the  twist  out.  Other  machinery  con- 
nected with  the  buzz  saws  was  not  properly  doing  its 
work,  and  I  was  kept  busy  during  the  two  weeks 
of  my  being  on  trial ;  my  work  met  their  expecta- 
tions. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  Mr.  Wilcox  passed 
through  the  shop  with  the  pay  envelopes.  When 
he  handed  me  mine  I  thrust  it  into  my  pocket  and 
said  to  myself,  "I  don't  want  to  know  what  mine  is 
until  I  go  to  supper."  I  kept  wondering  whether 
it  would  be  SI. 50  a  day  or  less.  In  due  time  when 
supper  was  ready  I  proposed  to  open  the  envelope 
and  see.  Wife  said,  "We  had  better  eat  first,  and 
we  will  be  better  prepared  for  what  we  see."    How- 


66        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

ever,  we  were  both  anxious  to  know,  and  the  revela- 
tion was  soon  made  to  our  astonishment  and  de- 
Hght.  We  found  %27,  the  most  money  I  had  ever 
received  for  twelve  days'  work  in  my  life,  $2.25  a 
day,  and  butter  forty-five  cents  a  pound,  but  who 
cares !  That  supper  was  eaten  with  as  much  relish 
and  thanksgiving  to  God  as  any  supper  since  the 
expulsion  of  our  first  parents  from  the  garden  of 
Eden. 

The  following  morning  I  was  installed  in  charge 
of  a  room  with  a  man  and  two  or  three  boys,  where 
lumber  was  prepared  for  the  building  of  houses 
and  barns.  At  that  time,  the  fall  of  1865,  Akron 
had  just  well  started  to  grow,  and  the  demand  for 
building  material  was  great. 

I  had  my  hands  and  mind  fully  occupied,  with 
no  time  to  be  sick.  In  the  good  providence  of  God 
the  nervous  prostration  passed  away  in  the  dust  and 
odor  of  pine  lumber;  my  weight  increased  to  165 
pounds  in  six  months ;  my  wages  were  $3  a  day 
and  the  prospects  roseate. 

At  this  time  I  ventured  to  preach  occasionally, 
and  went  with  Brother  Crubaugh  to  schoolhouses 
in  the  country  about  the  city.  My  first  preaching 
in  the  city  was  in  the  Baptist  church.  The  pastor 
was  ill,  and  one  Friday  Mr.  Wilcox  came  to  me  as 
I  was  at  work  in  my  department,  and  asked  me  if 
I  could  preach  a  Baptist  sermon  the  next  Sabbath, 
as  their  pastor  was  ill.  I  told  him  that  I  could 
preach  a  sermon  that  would  do  the  Baptists  good ; 
I  was  sure  of  that,  so  I  was  in  for  it.     I  preached 


Preacher,  Eider,  Delegate.  67 

morning  and  evening,  and  they  were  very  profuse 
in  their  thanks  and  congratulations,  and  invited  me 
to  come  as  often  as  convenient.  I  preached  several 
times  at  Grace  Reformed  Church  and  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  following 
winter  rented  a  hall  on  South  Main  Street,  and 
held  a  week's  meeting,  at  which  five  persons  were 
converted.  I  baptized  them  in  the  little  Cuyahoga 
River,  at  North  Howard  Street.  I  have  made  in- 
quiries in  regard  to  those  who  were  saved  at  that 
meeting,  and  learn  that  all  have  gone  to  their  rest 
in  the  paradise  of  God,  and  all  had  kept  the  faith  to 
the  end. 

A  small  class  of  United  Brethren  people  was  or- 
ganized, and  we  had  preaching  occasionally  in  dif- 
ferent homes  on  North  Hill,  called  at  that  time  "The 
Chuckery." 

My  period  of  rest  lasted  two  years  instead  of  one. 
In  that  time  my  health  was  fully  restored.  I  found 
that  the  way  for  me  to  gain  health  was  to  work, 
rather  than  to  be  peddling  patent  medicine  or  taking 
it,  or  dabbling  in  real  estate,  or  other  occupations 
that  are  regarded  as  more  refined.  The  shop  was 
the  place  for  me,  where  there  was  work  to  do  and 
wages.  Steady  toil  nine  or  ten  hours  each  day, 
and  no  fear  when  the  day's  work  was  done — em- 
ployment concerning  which  some  one  else  had  to 
do  the  thinking  and  planning,  and  I  had  only  to 
work  and  receive  my  pay. 

When  the  second  year  was  nearly  ended  and  the 
annual  conference  was  approaching  I  began  to  feel 


68        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

that  I  must  keep  my  vow  to  the  Lord,  and  again 
engage  fully  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  It  was 
circulated  among  the  employees  that  I  was  planning 
to  leave  in  September,  and  go  to  preaching.  One 
day  Mr.  Snyder  came  into  my  department  and  in- 
quired as  to  the  truth  of  the  report.  I  assured 
him  that  it  was  true,  as  I  had  made  a  solemn  prom- 
ise to  God  that  when  my  health  was  restored  I 
would  again  preach,  and  now  that  my  health  was 
good  I  felt  it  would  not  be  safe  to  stay  in  the  shop 
any  longer.  He  suggested  that  they  would  pay  me 
more  money  than  I  could  get  for  preaching,  and 
that  I  had  better  stay.  I  was  worth  five  dollars 
a  day  to  them,  and  they  proposed  to  pay  me  a  sal- 
ary of  twelve  hundred  dollars  a  year.  I  told  him 
that  the  money  would  never  satisfy  my  conscience, 
and  that  it  was  a  clear  conscience  I  proposed  to 
have.  So  the  matter  was  settled,  and  I  left  on  the 
first  of  September. 

At  the  session  of  the  conference  held  at  Clinton, 
Ohio,  in  1868,  I  was  elected  presiding  elder  and 
assigned  to  the  Erie  District,  which  I  had  traveled 
in  1863.  In  the  former  year  I  had  received  in  sal- 
ary $351.28.  It  was  a  little  better  in  1868,  being 
about  v$400.  I  served  the  same  district  in  1869, 
when  the  salary  was  $523.60. 

That  year  I  had  my  first  experience  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  General  Conference,  which  was  held 
at  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania.  When  I  returned  I  was 
asked  how  I  regarded  being  a  delegate  to  the  Gen- 


Preacher,  Elder,  Delegate.  69 

eral  Conference,  when  I  told  them  to  please  never 
elect  me  again. 

At  that  time  in  the  history  of  our  Church  there 
was  much  confusion  in  regard  to  our  position  on, 
and  method  of  dealing  with  secret  organizations. 
"The  contention  and  confusion  was  enough  to  be- 
wilder an  angel,"  I  told  some,  and  assured  them  that 
I  would  not  want  to  hear  another  three  days'  en- 
tangling discussion  in  debate,  such  as  took  place 
in  Lebanon,  for  all  the  honor  and  money  there  was 
in  it.  The  secrecy  question  would  get  mixed  with 
nearly  every  other  interest  which  came  before  the 
conference;  missions,  election  of  officers  and  edi- 
tors, the  selection  of  trustees  of  our  institutions — 
no  matter  what  came  before  the  conference,  every 
delegate  was  expected  to  look  sharp  and  see  if  the 
man,  the  subject,  or  the  enterprise,  had  or  had  not 
the  mark  of  the  beast. 

But  my  voice  and  vote  availed  not  in  the  matter 
of  my  election,  and  the  annual  conference  contin- 
ued to  elect  me  as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
ferences for  five  terms,  the  last  being  in  1885,  when 
the  conference  met  at  Fostoria,  Ohio,  at  which 
time  was  reached  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  this 
source  of  dissension  in  the  Church. 

]\Iy  time  from  the  year  I  left  the  shop  in  Akron, 
1868,  until  the  session  of  conference  in  Loraine, 
1901,  thirty-three  years  was  fully  employed  in  the 
work  of  the  presiding  eldership  and  the  pastorate, 
we  living  in  Ashland,  Burbank,  and  Nova  most  of 
the  time. 


70        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

Then  being  nearly  seventy-seven  years  of  age, 
at  my  request  the  conference  retired  me  from  active 
service,  and  gave  me  the  position  of  conference 
evangelist,  and  in  that  relation  I  have  served  ever 
since. 

My  last  regular  charge  was  Nova,  Ashland 
County,  Ohio,  v^here  we  spent  three  and  one-half 
of  the  most  pleasant  years  of  our  lives,  but  the 
death  of  our  only  son  made  our  hearts  ache,  our 
only  solace  being  that  he  died  in  the  triumph  of 
the  faith. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
A   Chapter  of  Miscellanies. 

This  last  chapter  must  needs  have  in  it  some 
variety. 

The  sixty-four  years  of  my  ministerial  life, 
counting  from  the  receiving  of  quarterly  confer- 
ence license,  have  not  been  as  I  anticipated.  I  had 
thought  that  if  I  were  to  tell  the  story  of  Christ 
as  I  had  known  it,  all  who  heard  would  at  once 
fall  in  with  it  and  turn  their  faces  toward  the 
heavenly  city.  But  I  soon  learned  something  of  the 
depravity  and  obstinacy  of  human  nature,  and  how 
men  are  disposed  to  listen  to  the  siren  song  of 
Satan,  "There  is  time  enough."  There  are  excuses 
without  number  for  neglecting  to  "get  right  with 
God,"  but  not  one  valid  reason  for  delaying.  The 
best  thing  in  this  life  is  being  right  with  God,  but 
there  is  a  universal  tendency  in  human  nature  to 
neglect  to  take  the  necessary  steps.  I  soon  found 
that  I  had  to  deal  with  human  nature  as  it  is.  I 
found,  too,  that  love,  plead,  entreat,  weep,  exhort 
with  all  long  suffering  and  doctrine  as  I  might, 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  to  attend  the  efforts,  yet  mul- 
titudes would  go  carelessly  on  down  to  perdition.. 

All  this  was  amazing  and  discouraging  to  me, 
and  it  remains  the  most  difficult  problem  in  sav- 
ing the  world.    "Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?" 

On  beinc;   relieved   from  the  responsibilitv  of  an 


72        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

active  pastor,  and  being  given  work  as  conference 
evangelist  in  1901,  we  moved  to  Akron,  Ohio,  it 
being  the  forty- fourth  time  we  had  moved  during 
our  married  Hfe.  The  question  then  to  be  answered 
was,  "How  are  we  going  to  Hve?"  I  was  too  old 
to  work  in  any  of  the  manufacturing  establishments. 
That  means  of  earning  a  livelihood  was  not  open. 
I  had  no  appetite  or  qualification  for  anything  but 
to  preach,  and  it  would  be  more  difficult  for  me 
to  quit  the  preaching  business  than  it  was  to  begin 
at  first.  My  wife  and  I,  therefore,  agreed  to  just 
wait  on  the  Lord,  and  see  what  he  should  do  for 
us.  It  was  not  long  until  a  door  was  opened  for 
me  to  do  work  here  and  there,  and  the  door  has 
never  been  closed.  I  was  not  disobedient  to  the 
heavenly  vision,  for  it  was  indeed  that  kind  of  a 
vision  to  us,  and  from  then  until  these  words  are 
written,  over  ten  years,  I  have  not  had  to  ask  a 
man  for  a  dollar,  nor  have  I  been  so  poor  as  to 
cheat  or  steal.  Many  of  the  Sunday  schools  of 
the  conference  have  been  very  generous  in  their 
offerings  for  my  support  every  year  on  my  birth- 
day, the  15th  of  December. 

Quite  a  number  of  my  friends  have  thought  that 
I  ought  to  marry  them  ere  I  pass  away,  as  I  have 
the  reputation  of  tying  the  knot  so  that  it  does  not 
easily  slip.  All  of  these  have  been  very  generous 
in  their  fees,  and  once  my  breath  was  nearly  taken 
away  when  I  found  a  twenty-dollar  bill  enclosed 
in  an  envelope,  which  was  placed  in  my  hands  as 
my    friends   left.     My   wife   opened   the   envelope 


r% 


RE\'.   J.  G.    BALDWIN  xMRS.   ELEANOR  BALDWIN 

As  widely  remembered  in  East  Ohio  Conference 


REV.  AND   MRS.  J.   G.   BALDWIN 
Last   Photograph 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  7Z 

and  said,  "It  is  twenty  dollars."  I  told  her  she 
must  be  mistaken,  and  when  we  discovered  that  it 
was  really  and  truly  twenty  dollars,  we  just  sat 
down  and  cried  like  children,  not  knowing  what 
we  were  crying  about. 

I  have  been  called  upon  to  conduct  funeral  serv- 
ices at  various  places  in  the  conference  during  my 
more  than  ten  years  of  retirement,  and  my  expenses 
have  always  been  paid,  and  sometimes  I  have  re- 
ceived more,  just  "to  keep  me  alive  and  going," 
as  one  brother  said. 

Years  ago,  when  I  refused  a  salary  of  twelve 
hundred  dollars  to  accept  three  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  a  year  for  the  sake  of  paying  a  vow  and 
of  being  on  good  terms  with  a  good  conscience, 
it  seemed  as  if  I  was  running  a  great  risk.  Some  of 
my  friends  said  that  it  was  too  much  like  the  spirit 
of  fanaticism.  I  then  said  that  if  I  were  to  stay 
in  the  factory  and  be  suddenly  killed  with  a  buzz 
saw,  or  by  the  bursting  of  a  boiler,  or  a  fly-wheel, 
or  in  some  other  manner,  a  danger  imminent  at  any 
time,  what  good  would  money  be  to  me?  It  would 
intensify  my  remorse,  and  that  is  an  aw^ful  word ! 
I  will  go  and  preach  and  fill  my  part  of  the  con- 
tract. And  so  I  did  and  have  continued  in  the 
business  until  the  present  time,  and  God  has  kept 
his  part  of  the  contract. 

It  has  been  the  paramount  object  of  my  life  to 
publish  abroad  the  old,  old  story,  which  is  to  make 
this  world  what  it  ought  to  be.  In  fulfilling  this 
mission,  we  have  lived  as  happily  and  as  free  from 


74        Autohiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

carking  cares  as  any  millionaire  that  dwells  in  the 
land.  We  have  a  thousand  tables  where  we  are 
cordially  invited  to  eat,  and  are  welcomed  in  a 
thousand  nicely  furnished  homes  with  their  bless- 
ings and  conveniences  and  good  fellowship  among 
the  very  best  people  who  dwell  this  side  of  the 
gold  paved  city.  So  we  have  been  tenderly  and 
bountifully  cared  for  all  our  days,  and  my  faith 
says,  "Surely  his  goodness  shall  follow  me  all 
the  days  of  my  life,  and  I  shall  dwell  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord   forever." 

The  United  Brethren  Church  has  been  a  price- 
less blessing  to  me.  To  be  sure  there  have  been 
"fightings  without  and  fears  within,"  leadings  that 
looked  dark,  afflictions  and  bereavements  which 
were  mysterious,  but  the  Lord,  by  his  word  and  his 
people,  came  in  good  time  for  our  rescue.  "Many 
are  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous,  but  the  Lord 
delivereth  him  out  of  them  all."  He  delivers  by  tak- 
ing the  afflictions  away,  or  by  taking  one  away  from 
the  afflictions,  or  by  giving  grace  to  bear  them. 
Great  is  our  God  in  his  resources,  and  great  are 
his  people  who  are  organized  to  work  under  his 
direction  and  in  partnership  with  him. 

During  these  years  I  have  sought  to  work  under 
God's  supervision  and  with  him.  I  have  made 
mistakes  and  blunders,  but  none  as  bad  as  if  I 
had  sought  to  evade  labor  and  responsibility.  I  can 
truthfully  record  that  the  whole  trend  of  body,  mind, 
and  soul  for  more  than  three  score  years  has  been  to 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  75 

be  a  cheerful  worker,  a  man  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed. 

It  is  perhaps  proper  for  me  to  record  as  well  as 
I  can  a  summary  of  my  work  during  my  ministry 
of  sixty-four  years. 

I  have  appeared  before  the  people  at  various  times 
and  places  with  the  best  message  ever  given  to  man, 
perhaps  fourteen  thousand  times. 

Over  one  hundred  evangelistic  meetings  have 
been  conducted  by  myself  on  various  fields  of  labor, 
in  each  of  which  from  six  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five   have   professed    conversion. 

I  have  received  into  the  United  Brethren  Church 
by  right  hand  of  fellowship  nearly  fourteen  hun- 
dred persons,  and  have  the  best  of  testimony  that 
many  of  them  are  to-day  in  the  paradise  of  God. 

Some  eight  hundred  couples  have  been  united  in 
marriage  by  me,  and  as  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  learn  there  has  been  but  one  divorce  sought  or 
granted. 

I  have  been  called  upon  to  officiate  at  the  fun- 
erals of  some  twelve  hundred  persons.  On  one  field 
of  labor,  I  had  thirty-one  funerals  during  a  year, 
and  thirty-one  marriages. 

I  have  been  honored  with  nearly  every  official 
position  in  the  United  Brethren  Church,  except 
class  leader  and  bishop.  I  was  secretary  of  the  an- 
nual conference  thirty-one  years  ;  secretary  of  Otter- 
bein  University  Board  of  Trustees  thirty  years; 
trustee  of  the  United  Brethren  Publishing  House  and 
secretary  for  eight  years ;  trustee  of  our  theological 


76        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldzvin. 

Seminary  eight  years;  besides  being  presiding  elder 
seven  years,  and  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
ference five  times.  I  might  mention  here  as  a  pleas- 
antry that  at  the  General  Conference  held  in  Can- 
ton, Ohio,  in  1909,  I  was  spoken  of  as  the  "Bishop 
of  the  East  Ohio  Conference,"  and  I  heard  no  dis- 
senting voice.  As  a  bishop  is  an  ''overseer"  I  accept 
the  honor,  and  shall  seek  to  magnify  the  office  by 
continual  watching  and  prayer,  especially  for  the 
pastors,  that  they  may  read  Paul's  second  letter  to 
Timothy,   second   chapter,   and   read  it   frequently. 

Amen. 

******* 

And  now  this  story  of  my  life  must  come  to  a 
close.  I  have  sought  to  give  the  plain  facts  of  a 
humble  life  as  they  have  been  seen  and  known 
by  myself,  without  pretense  to  scholarship  or  em- 
bellishment. It  has  been  a  blessing  to  me  to  thus 
live  over  again  my  life,  and  if  those  who  peruse 
these  lines  find  some  of  the  joy  and  strength  in 
their  perusal  that  I  have  found  in  recording  them, 
I  shall  be  repaid  for  all  my  toil. 

My  earthly  race  is  nearly  run.  As  I  look  about, 
I  see  that  most  of  my  comrades  of  life's  noon  have 
gone  from  my  sight.  I  feel  almost  alone.  Occa- 
sionally I  think  I  hear  some  one  calling  tenderly 
for  me  to  "come  home,"  and  I  can  almost  see  the 
hands  that  are  beckoning  me  to  follow,  to  show 
me  that  there  is  some  one  waiting  over  there  on 
the  farther  side  of  the  river.  And  so,  when  the 
call  comes,  "Child,  come  home,"  I  trust  that  I  mav 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  77 

slip   away   quietly   and   in   great   triumph   to   dwell 
among  the  throng  of  blessed  immortals. 


My  Prayer. 

0  most  merciful  God,  cast  me  not  off  in  my 
old  age;  forsake  me  not,  if  my  strength  faileth. 
May  my  hoary  head  be  found  in  righteousness. 
Preserve  my  mind  from  dotage  and  imbecility,  and 
my  body  from  protracted  disease  and  excruciating 
pain.  Deliver  me  from  despondency  in  my  declin- 
ing years,  and  enable  me  to  bear  with  patience  what- 
soever may  be  thy  holy  will. 

1  humbly  ask  that  my  reason  may  be  continued 
to  the  last,  and  that  I  may  be  so  comforted  and 
supported  that  I  may  leave  my  testimony  in  favor 
of  the  reality  of  religion  and  of  thy  faithfulness 
in  fulfilling  thy  gracious  promises.  And  when  my 
spirit  leaves  this  clay  tenement,  Lord  Jesus,  receive 
it.  Send  some  of  the  blessed  angels  to  convey  my 
unexperienced  soul  to  the  mansions  which  thy  love 
has  prepared ;  and  oh,  may  I  have  an  abundant  en- 
trance ministered  unto  me  into  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior,  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 

— Dr.  Archibald  Alexander. 


Kneeltnc  at  the  Threshold.  > 
Pm  kneeling  at  the  threshold,  so  weary,  faint,  and 

sore. 
Waiting  for  the  dawning,  the  opening  of  the  door. 


78        Autobiography  of  Rev.  /.  G.  Baldicin. 

Waiting    'til    the    Master    shall    rise    and    bid  me 

(ome 
To  his  most  glorious  presence,  the  gladness  of  his 

home. 

Chorus — 

Kneeling  at  the  threshold,  weary,   faint,  and  sore, 

Kneeling  at  the  threshold,  my  hand  is  on  the  door. 

A  weary  path  I've  traveled,  'mid  darkness,  storm, 

and   strife. 
Bearing  many  a  burden,  and  struggling  for  my  liie. 
But  now  the  morn  is  breaking,  my  toil  is  almost 

o'er, 
I'm  kneeling  at  the  threshold,  my  hand  is  on  the 

door ! 

The    friends   that    started   with    me,    have   entered 

long  ago, 
r)ne  by  one  they've  left  me,  still  struggling  with  the 

foe, 
Tiieir  pilgrimage  was  shorter,  their  triumph  sooner 

won, 
How  lovingly  they'll  hail  me,  when  all  my  toil  is 

done ! 

Methinks  I  hear  the  voices  of  lov'd  ones  as  they 

stand 
Singing   in   the   sunshine   of   that   fair   and   happy 

land. 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  79 

Oh,  would  that  I  were  with  them,  amid  the  shining 

throng, 
And  mingling  in  their  worship,  and  joining  in  their 

song! 

With  them  the  blessed  angels,  who  know  no  grief 

or  sin, 
See  them  by  thy  portals,   prepared  to  let  me   in ! 
O  Lord,  I  wait  thy  pleasure,  thy  time  and  way  are 

best, 
But  I'm  all  worn  and  weary,   O   Father,  give  me 

rest! 


A  Sermon. 
The  Christian's  Sure  and  Secure  Possessions. 

Text. — ^latthew  6:20.  "Lay  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  in  heaven." 

Let  us  tarry  for  a  time  and  scan,  as  we  may  have 
ability,  our  future  possessions  beyond  this  present 
state,  a  place  called  in  the  Bible,  heaven!  I  wish 
to  call  attention  to  three  general  items  concerning 
the  "laying  up  of  treasures"  in  that  place. 

1.  Why  hiy  up  treasures  there? 

2.  Of  what  do  those  treasures  consist? 

3.  When  are  we  to  lay  them  up? 

First,  we  are  to  lay  up  treasures  in  heaven,  be- 
cause there  is  such  a  place.  The  Scriptures  plainly 
reveal  to  us  the  truth  of  the  real  existence  of  such 
a  place,  a  place  of  unspeakable  glory  and  felicity. 
The  longings,  fancies,  and  imaginations  of  the  race 


80        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldivin. 

of  mankind  intuitively  look  for  a  satisfaction  to 
correspond  with  those  longings  and  soul  hungerings. 
The  great  Creator  has  in  everything  that  we  know 
anything  about,  made  the  law  of  correspondence 
plain.  For  example,  have  we  hunger,  there  is  bread 
somewhere  to  satisfy  that  hunger;  are  we  thirsty, 
water  is  given  to  satisfy  that  thirst.  The  bird  has 
wings,  there  is  air  in  which  to  use  those  wings ;  the 
fishes  have  fins,  water  is  given  for  their  use  and 
pleasure.  Do  we  desire  knowledge?  over  against 
that  desire  there  is  an  ocean  of  facts  to  find,  which 
may  take  an  eternity  to  give  employment  to  our 
powers,  and  yet  never  be  able  to  say,  we  have 
learned  it  all !  And  would  it  not  be  an  unkind  and 
unusual  thing  to  be  expected  of  a  great  and  good 
Creator  to  thus  make  his  offspring  with  such 
longings  and  thirstings,  and  at  the  same  time  pro- 
vide no  ray  of  hope  of  a  state  wherein  these  visions 
of  their  fancies  could  be  realities !  So  we  must  con- 
clude that  because  of  our  being  in  possession  of 
these  powers,  which  he  has  given  us,  he  will  in  due 
time  give  those  who  are  duly  prepared  for  the 
state,  the  full  fruition  of  their  longings,  and  thirst- 
ings :  and  it  is  intimated  that  it  will  be  more  than, 
"eye  hath  seen,  or  ear  heard,  or  hath  entered  into 
the  heart  to  conceive  what  God  hath  in  reserve 
for  those  who  love  him."  A  good  place  for  treas- 
ure to  be  laid   up! 

Second,  a  safe  place.    No  moth  or  rust  to  corrupt, 
no  thieves  to  break  in  and  steal ;  all  such  characters 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  81 

are  imprisoned  in  their  own  place,  forever  barred 
from  the  abode  of  the  good  and  pure. 
'Those  holy  gates  forever  bar 

Pollution,  sin,  and  shame. 

None  shall  obtain  admittance  there 

But  followers  of  the  Lamb." 
No  breaking  of  banks,  no  depreciation  of  values 
there;  our  inheritance  cannot  be  taken  by  another 
by  stealth  or  intrigue;  mine  will  be  mine,  world 
without  end!  And  it  cannot  be  squandered,  but  it 
may  be  increasing  in  value  and  satisfaction.  I  am 
disposed  to  think  so.  Certainly  a  safe  and  secure 
and  sane  place  to  lay  up  treasure  is  in  heaven. 

Third,  we  should  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven,  be- 
cause it  is  to  be  our  home.  We  are  to  live  there ; 
our  abode  forever.  Living,  yes.  An  old  brother 
was  sick  unto  death,  and  as  he  lay  upon  what  was 
supposed  his  dying  couch,  expecting  a  daughter 
from  the  West,  who  soon  arrived  and  immediately 
spoke  to  him  to  see  if  he  could  still  recognize 
her,  he  called  her  name,  to  her  delight.  She  then 
remarked,  "I  am  so  glad  to  get  here  before  you 
passed  from  the  land  of  the  living  to  the  land  of 
the  dying."  "Oh,  no,  daughter!"  said  he,  "not  so, 
I  am  near  home  where  the  living  are ;  where  they 
live  and  never  die,  where  they  abide."  These  were 
his  last  words  to  his  daughter  this  side  of  the  river. 
What  a  triumphant  exit ;  what  a  joyful  home-com- 
ing! And  then  what  a  gathering  that  will  be  when 
the  saints  all  arrive  to  enter  their  immortal  home, 
and   come   into  their  immortal  treasures,   immune 


82        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

from  sickness,  disease,  death,  loss,  separation,  and 
all  that  annoys  or  disturbs  us  here. 

''Where  no  fear  or  dismay,  neither  trouble  nor  sor- 
row, 

Will  be  feared  for  a  day,  or  be  feared  for  the  mor- 
row." 

Lay  up  treasures  where  we  are  to  absolutely  live 
and  where  we  shall  live  the  longest !  It  would  be 
wise  to  have  our  principal  treasure  there.  A  little 
may  do  here,  as  our  possessions  will  soon  be  in 
other  hands,  even  if  we  stay  here  a  thousand  years. 

''But  I  shall  know  the  loved  ones  gone  before, 
And  joyfully  sweet  will  the  meeting  be. 
When  over  the  river,  the  peaceful  river, 
The  Angel  of  Death  shall  carry  me." 

What  are  the  treasures  to  be  laid  up  there? 

First,  a  treasure  of  thought.  Think  of  its  being 
"our  Father's  house."  So  Jesus  named  it,  consist- 
ing of  "many  mansions."  May  it  not  mean  the 
universe  and  the  many  worlds?  No  doubt  but  this 
world,  in  which  we  now  live,  is  but  a  speck,  and 
but  a  small  one  at  that,  among  the  countless  worlds 
rolling  in  space.  Think  of  the  magnitude,  the  beauty 
and  harmony  in  their  construction  and  movements, 
and  no  mortal  is  able  to  exaggerate  or  overdraw 
anything  in  regard  to  their  existence.  "Great  and 
marvelous  are  thy  works,  O  Lord." 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  83 

Also  think  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Father's 
house.  None  are  there  but  the  pure,  the  good,  and 
lovely,  those  who  are  fitted  for  the  place,  the  im- 
mortals. Certainly  he  who  is  able  to  clothe  the 
mortal  with  immortality,  is  also  able  to  make  a 
place,  a  sphere,  a  state,  or  outward  condition  to 
correspond.  There  is  a  vast  deal  more  in  a  state 
of  immortality  than  we  have  thought  of,  or  can 
think  or  dream  of. 

I  love  to  think  of  the  place  and  read  of  it,  as  it 
is  pictured  in  the  Bible,  and  think  that  when  I  get 
there  it  may  be  possible  I  shall  be  able  to  say:  "I 
have  thought  of  this  and  this,  but  still  this  is  much 
more  than  I  was  able  to  conceive  in  my  mortal 
state.  It  is  in  line  of  my  thought  and  conception, 
but  far,  far  beyond  my  farthest  flights  of  fancy  and 
imagination !"  "But  what  must  it  be  to  be  there  ? 
Oh!  what  must  it  be  to  be  there?" 

I  wish  to  so  think  of  the  state  and  place  as  to  be 
able  to  say  when  I  am  permitted  to  arrive  there, 
"This  is  congenial;  this  is  my  home,  better  than  I 
deserve,  a  sinner  redeemed,  saved  by  grace;  the  gift 
of  God  through  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord,  to  him  be 
endless  praises !" 

Then  our  zvords  are  to  be  laid  up  as  treasures 
there.  Good  words,  instructive  and  comforting 
words.  "Words  fitly  spoken,"  what  a  benefit  they 
are — "like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver." 
How  a  word  of  cheer  may  nerve  the  weary,  foot- 
sore pilgrim,  how  it  may  lighten  the  burden  of  the 
bereaved  and  afflicted,  and  in  how  many  number- 


84        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin. 

less  ways  may  a  good  word  be  spoken  which  will 
help  the  fallen  to  rise,  much  more  than  words  of 
criticism  or  blame.  They  will  be  remembered ;  they 
will  never  die;  they  are  words  of  truth  and  love, 
and  are  immortal.  We  shall  find  them  laid  up  in 
the  books  of  record  in  our  Father's  house. 

Thirdly,  good  deeds  are  to  be  laid  up,  will  be  on 
record  in  heaven.  Our  Lord  makes  it  plain  in  the 
twenty-fifth  of  Matthew  that  doing  something  is 
counted  in  the  final  settlement ;  namely,  "Inasmuch 
as  ye  have  done  it  to  the  least  of  these  my  brethren, 
ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  And  in  the  tenth  chapter 
of  Matthew,  the  forty-first  and  forty-second  verses, 
the  persons  who  have  the  smallest  talent  may  find 
encouragement.  He  says,  "He  that  receiveth  a 
prophet  in  the  name  of  a  prophet  shall  receive  a 
prophet's  reward."  That  is,  if  he  does  the  work  of 
a  prophet,  though  not  a  prophet,  he  shall  receive 
a  reward  the  same  as  a  prophet.  That  is  as  fair  as 
any  one  could  desire.  And  again,  "Whosoever 
shall  gizfe  to  drink  unto  one  of  these  little  ones 
a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in  the  name  of  a  disciple, 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his 
reward." 

We  are  to  be  careful  to  do  good  deeds  in  His 
name  and  for  his  praise  and  glory,  not  to  boast 
of,  or  to  be  praised  of  men,  or  with  any  selfish 
spirit,  but  whether  we  eat  or  drink,  and  "whatsoever 
we  do"  is  to  be  done  in  the  name  of  him  who  has 
done  all  good  for  us.     Such  deeds  will  be  laid  up 


A  Chapter  of  Miscellanies.  85 

as  our  treasure  in  heaven,  never  to  be  lost  or  for- 
gotten. 

When  are  these  treasures  to  he  secured  and  laid 
up? 

First.  In  the  days  of  youth  is  as  good  a  time 
to  begin  as  we  can  suggest,  or  as  can  be  found  by 
scripture  or  reason.  We  seek  a  preparation  in  youth 
in  order  to  act  our  part  in  mature  years.  A  trade, 
profession,  or  business  which  we  expect  to  pursue, 
we  are  wise  to  begin  in  youth.  Oh !  how  many 
have  been  filled  with  regret  because  of  listening 
to  the  siren's  deceptive  song,  'There's  time  enough 

yet." 

Second.  While  in  health  we  should  be  careful  to 
lay  up  some  store  against  the  eternity  to  come. 
Every  day  lay  up  some  treasure.  The  time  is  brief 
at  the  longest,  and  the  chance  to  do  is  liable  to  be 
taken  away  any  moment.  I  was  urging  a  strong 
man,  some  twenty-five  years  ago,  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian at  once.  He  said,  in  a  very  light  and  trifling 
manner :  "If  this  was  the  last  meeting  I  would  ever 
attend  of  this  kind,  I  would,  but  I  shall,  from  the 
appearance  of  my  health,  have  lots  of  chances.  If 
I  were  as  feeble  as  my  wife  is,  the  matter  would 
be  settled  at  once,  to-night."  Well,  it  was  the 
last  meeting  of  the  kind  that  he  ever  saw.  He 
passed  on  to  the  other  side  more  than  twenty  years 
since,  but  the  feeble  wife  is  still  living  and  has 
a  hope  of  living  in  the  land  where  sickness  and 
death  can  never  enter.     I  have  personally  known 


86        Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin, 

of  scores  of  similar  cases,  and  how  difficult  it  is  to 
persuade  fallen  humanity  to  run  no  risk! 

The  time  for  laying  up  treasure  in  heaven  is  now. 
It  is  God's  time,  and  the  only  time  we  can  call 
ours.  "Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time,  behold, 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation !"  No  time  to  squander, 
no  opportunities  suffered  to  slip  away,  all  chances 
too  soon  will  be  gone  forever!  The  work  must  be 
done  in  this  life,  or  it  will  never  be  done. 

You  must  lay  up  for  yourselves;  it  cannot  be 
done  by  proxy.  Wife,  husband,  son,  or  daughter, 
the  rich  or  poor,  wise  or  unlearned;  each  and  all, 
for  himself  or  herself,  must  take  a  personal  interest 
in  this  business,  or  it  will  be  an  absolute  failure. 
The  loss  will  be  no  less  than  eternal ! 

What  a  joy  the  soul  has,  which  is  conscious  of  the 
possession  of  treasures  laid  up  in  heaven!  What 
comfort  comes  to  him  who  day  by  day,  is  adding  to 
the  immortal  possession,  and  with  what  exultation 
he  can  sing, 

"Peace !  Peace !  Wonderful  peace, 
Coming  down  from  the  Father  above ; 
Sweep  over  my  spirit  forever,  I  pray. 
In  fathomless  billows  of  love !" 

Oh,  blessed  state,  and  blessed  life  to  live  on  earth ; 
with  such  assurance  of  unmeasured  and  untold 
wealth  laid  up  in  heaven! 

The  End. 


AuSaphy^of  Rev.  James  G.  Baldwin 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Ubrary 


1   1012  00047  2383 


